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balefire

[ beyl-fahyuhr ]
/ ˈbeɪlˌfaɪər /
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See synonyms for balefire on Thesaurus.com
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. 2022

Words related to balefire

flare, lantern, radar, alarm, alert, beam, bonfire, guidepost, heliograph, lamp, lighthouse, lodestar, pharos, rocket, sign, watchtower

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|Virgil

  • A single window in the wing gleamed like a balefire in the rays of the setting sun.

    Shapes that Haunt the Dusk|Various

  • Balefire devoured, greediest spirit, those spared not by war out of either folk: their flower was gone.

    Beowulf|Anonymous

  • This 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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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