Word for Wednesday: Sparkler

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With Diwali and Bonfire Night falling back-to-back this week, we can expect plenty of glitter and sparkle lighting up our skies. To celebrate, we’ve chosen fireworks as our Word for Wednesday theme for November.

A firework is a device with an explosive that burns with coloured flames. The word dates to the 1570s from the Old English ‘fyr’ and ‘work’. 

Our first fireworks-themed word of the month is sparkler. A sparkler is a handheld firework that burns slowly and produce sparks.

The word sparkler has been used in reference to this type of firework since 1905, and more generally in reference to anything that sparkles since 1713. The word sparkle days to around 1200, and comes from the Middle English ‘sparke’, which comes from the Old English ‘spearca’. 
 


03 Nov 2021
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