beacon

Definition

A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.

Etymology

From Middle English beken, from Old English bēacn (“sign, signal”), from Proto-West Germanic *baukn, from Proto-Germanic *baukną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂u-, *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of buoy. Compare West Frisian beaken (“buoy”), Dutch baken (“beacon”), Middle Low German bāke (“beacon, sign”), German Bake (“traffic sign”), Middle High German bouchen (“sign”).

Example Sentences

• "No flaming Beacons caſt their Blaze afar, / The dreadful Signal of invaſive VVar."
• "Henceforth, wherever thou may’st roam, / ⁠My blessing, like a line of light, / ⁠Is on the waters day and night, / And like a beacon guards thee home."
• "a beacon of hope"