the.com/wall sconce

means A light fixture that mounts directly on a wall, usually to cast ambient or decorative light upward, downward, or sideways rather than straight down from above.

from 'Sconce' traces back through Old French 'esconse' to Latin 'absconsa' (lantern), itself from 'abscondere' — to hide or conceal. The link: early sconces were candle-holders with a shield or hood that concealed the flame, protecting it from drafts while directing the light outward. So the word's ancestry is literally about hiding a light to make it more useful — the wall-mounting came later, but the 'concealed flame' is baked into the name.