What does "waster" mean?
Waster: Sconces are great wasters of candles. Swift.
Additional senses
- 2.An imperfection in the wick of a candle, causing it to waste; -- called also a thief. Halliwell.
- 3.A kind of cudgel; also, a blunt-edged sword used as a foil. Half a dozen of veneys at wasters with a good fellow for a broken head. Beau. & Fl. Being unable to wield the intellectual arms of reason, they are fain to betake them unto wasters. Sir T. Browne.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00