Parts of a Candlestick – Socket, Nozzle, Stem, Drip Pan

All 10 parts on the diagram

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Candlesticks 7

Base (foot) The wide foot the candlestick stands on.
Stem The column that rises from the base.
Socket The cup that the end of the candle fits into.
Drip pan A dish that catches wax running down from the candle.
Pricket A spike that holds a candle, in place of a socket.
Knop A rounded swelling on the stem.
Nozzle A rim fitted in the socket; it spreads out to catch drips.

Chamberstick 3

Pan The saucer of a chamberstick, which catches dripping wax.
Handle A ring or scroll at the edge, for carrying it.
Extinguisher A small cone placed over the flame to put it out.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Candlestick (a cup or a spike called a pricket; the chamberstick, a short candlestick with a pan), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlestick; Candelabra (base, shaft), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candelabra. (2) G. Bernard Hughes, More About Collecting Antiques (1952), chapter on domestic candlesticks, read in full (foot or base, stem, knop, socket, nozzle, drip-pan, pricket, chamber candlesticks), https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.3640. (3) Passages of four other books, read through the Internet Archive's full-text search: Domestic Metalwork 1640-1820 (nozzle, stem, base, knop, drip-pan), https://archive.org/details/domesticmetalwor0000gent; Three Centuries of English Domestic Silver (socket, pricket, stem, knop, base, nozzle, drip pan), https://archive.org/details/threecenturiesof0000bern; Silver Auction Records 1978-1979 (chamber candlestick with circular pan, ring handle, conical extinguisher), https://archive.org/details/silverauctionrec0000sara; Small Antique Silverware (chamber candlestick, extinguisher hooked to the handle), https://archive.org/details/bwb_W9-DDS-962. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's product, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A candlestick holds a candle upright, in a cup or on a spike. This drawing names seven parts on two candlesticks, then three more on a chamberstick, the kind with a handle.

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Socket or spike

A candlestick stands on its base, and the stem rises from it, often with a knop, a rounded swelling. At the top is the socket, the cup that holds the candle. The nozzle is the rim in the socket, spread out to catch drips. Older candlesticks hold the candle on a spike, the pricket, with a drip pan under it for the wax. A chamberstick is made to be carried: a short socket in a wide pan, with a handle. Its extinguisher is a cone that puts out the flame.

Socket or nozzle? The socket is the cup. The nozzle is the spreading rim on top of it.
Drip pan or pan? A drip pan sits up on the stem. The pan of a chamberstick is its base.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a candlestick called?

From the bottom: the base or foot, the stem, often a knop on the stem, and the socket that holds the candle, with a nozzle round its rim. Some candlesticks have a drip pan, and some have a pricket instead of a socket.

What is the part of a candlestick that holds the candle called?

The socket. It is the cup at the top that the end of the candle fits into. On a pricket candlestick the candle is pushed onto a spike instead.

What is a candlestick with a spike called?

A pricket candlestick. The spike is the pricket, and a dish under it catches the wax. It is an older form than the socket candlestick and is still seen in churches.

What is a candlestick with a handle called?

A chamberstick, or chamber candlestick. It is short, with a pan to catch dripping wax, and was used to carry a light from room to room.