balefire
[ beyl-fahyuhr ]
/ ˈbeɪlˌfaɪər /
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noun
a large fire in the open air; bonfire.
a signal fire; beacon.
the fire of a funeral pile.
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Origin of balefire
1250–1300; Middle English bal(e)fir, equivalent to bale (<Old Norse bāl funeral pyre) + firefire; replacing Old English bǣlfȳr
Words nearby balefire
Balearic Islands, baleboste, bale cubic, baleen, baleen whale, balefire, baleful, Balenciaga, baler, balestra, Balewa
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use balefire in a sentence
Nay, even such a birth hath Venus of her own, a second Paris, another balefire for Troy towers reborn.'
The Aeneid of Virgil|VirgilA single window in the wing gleamed like a balefire in the rays of the setting sun.
Shapes that Haunt the Dusk|VariousBalefire devoured, greediest spirit, those spared not by war out of either folk: their flower was gone.
Beowulf|AnonymousThis word was the last which the wise old man harbored in heart ere hot death-waves of balefire he chose.
Beowulf|Anonymous
British Dictionary definitions for balefire
balefire
/ (ˈbeɪlˌfaɪə) /
noun archaic
a bonfire
a beacon fire
a funeral pyre
Word Origin for balefire
C14 bale, from Old English bǣl pyre; related to Old Norse bāl flame, pyre, Sanskrit bhāla brightness
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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