carry a torch en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From the metaphor of a burning flame, to keep a fire burning. The association of a torch with love may date to the Greek and Roman tradition of a wedding torch, lit in the bride’s hearth on her wedding night, then used to light the hearth in her new home. Such a torch is associated with the Greek god of marriage Hymenaios.
Meanings
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(idiomatic) To love or to be romantically infatuated with, especially when such feelings are not reciprocated.
Lachey, for his part, seems to still carry a torch for his estranged wife.
2006 April 20, Jeannette Walls, “Are Simpson and Lachey still in love?”, in msnbc.com, archived from the original on 23 Apr 2006:Someday, I know that Jim will up and leave me / But even if he does you can believe me / I'll go on carryin' the torch for Jim / I'll go on lovin' my Jim
1941, “Jim”, Nelson Shawn (lyrics), James Caesar Petrillo and Edward Ross (music):Brunhilde, a kind of earth-mother goddess, carries a torch for her lost love.
1955 June 6, “Books: Mixed Fiction (review of The Twelve Pictures by Edith Simon)”, in Time, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2013:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| carries a torch | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| carrying a torch | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| carried a torch | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| carried a torch | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| carry the torch | alternative | lexicographic |