balefire
Americannoun
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a large fire in the open air; bonfire.
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a signal fire; beacon.
-
the fire of a funeral pile.
noun
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a bonfire
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a beacon fire
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a funeral pyre
Etymology
Origin of balefire
1250–1300; Middle English bal ( e ) fir, equivalent to bale (< Old Norse bāl funeral pyre) + fire fire; replacing Old English bǣlfȳr
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sweet Teviot! on thy silver tide The glaring balefires blaze no more.
From Project Gutenberg
A single window in the wing gleamed like a balefire in the rays of the setting sun.
From Project Gutenberg
Nay, even such a birth hath Venus of her own, a second Paris, another balefire for Troy towers reborn.'
From Project Gutenberg
Up to the window the company crowded, and they could see the balefire blazing hotly against the cool light of the moon and the widely sprinkled stars.
From Project Gutenberg
Like a balefire should the flame go up that says the king is dead.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
