Lantern Definition
lăntərn
lanterns
noun
A transparent or translucent case for holding a light and protecting it from wind and weather: it usually has a handle on its framework so that it can be carried.
Webster's New World
A decorative casing for a light, often of paper.
American Heritage
The room containing the lamp at the top of a lighthouse.
Webster's New World
A light and its protective or decorative case.
American Heritage
Webster's New World
verb
To furnish with a lantern.
To lantern a lighthouse.
Wiktionary
Other Word Forms of Lantern
Noun
Singular:
lanternPlural:
lanternsOrigin of Lantern
-
Middle English (13th century), via Old French lanterne from Latin lanterna (“lantern"), itself a corruption of Ancient Greek λαμπτήρ (lamptÄ“r, “torch") (see lamp, λάμπω) by influence of Latin lucerna (“lamp"). The spelling lanthorn was current during the 16th to 19th centuries and originates with a folk etymology associating the word with the use of horn as translucent cover. For the verb, compare French lanterner to hang at the lamp-post.
From Wiktionary
Middle English from Old French lanterne from Latin lanterna from Greek lamptēr from lampein to shine
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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