lantern

lan·tern

Use lantern in a sentence

A lantern on the beach.

noun

The definition of a lantern is container that holds a light.

An example of a lantern is a hand held light powered by propane, used while camping.

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"lantern." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/lantern>.

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lantern. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/lantern

lantern

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
the room containing the lamp at the top of a lighthouse
an open or windowed structure on the roof of a building or in the upper part of a tower or the like, to admit light or air
magic lantern

Origin of lantern

Middle English from Old French lanterne from Classical Latin lanterna from Classical Greek lampt?r from lampein, to shine: see lamp

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MLA Style

"lantern." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/lantern>.

APA Style

lantern. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/lantern

lantern

noun

a. An often portable case with transparent or translucent sides for holding and protecting a light.
b. A decorative casing for a light, often of paper.
c. A light and its protective or decorative case.
a. The room at the top of a lighthouse where the light is located.
b. Obsolete A lighthouse.
A structure built on top of a roof or dome with open or windowed walls to admit light and air.

Origin of lantern

Middle English from Old French lanterne from Latin lanterna from Greek lamptēr from lampein to shine

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"lantern." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/lantern>.

APA Style

lantern. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/lantern

Noun

(plural lanterns)

A case of translucent or transparent material made to protect a flame, or light, used to illuminate its surroundings.
(architecture) An open structure of light material set upon a roof, to give light and air to the interior.
(architecture) A cage or open chamber of rich architecture, open below into the building or tower which it crowns.
(architecture) A smaller and secondary cupola crowning a larger one, for ornament, or to admit light.
the lantern of the cupola of the Capitol at Washington, or that of the Florence cathedral
(engineering) A lantern pinion or trundle wheel.
(steam engines) A kind of cage inserted in a stuffing box and surrounding a piston rod, to separate the packing into two parts and form a chamber between for the reception of steam, etc.; a lantern brass.
(metalworking) A perforated barrel to form a core upon.
(zoology) Aristotle's lantern

Verb

(third-person singular simple present lanterns, present participle lanterning, simple past and past participle lanterned)

To furnish with a lantern.
to lantern a lighthouse

Origin

Middle English (13th century), via Old French lanterne from Latin lanterna (“lantern"), itself a corruption of Ancient Greek Î»Î±Î¼Ï€Ï„Î®Ï (lamptÄ“r, “torch") (see lamp, Î»Î¬Î¼Ï€Ï‰) 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.