Adjacent Words

Lantern definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LAN'TERN, n. [L. laterna.]
1. A case or vessel made of tin perforated with many holes, or of some transparent substance, as glass, horn, or oiled paper; used for carrying a candle or other light in the open air, or into stables, etc.
A dark lantern is one with a single opening, which may be closed so as to conceal the light.
2. A light-house or light to direct the course of ships.
3. In architecture, a little dome raised over the roof of a building to give light, and to serve as a crowning to the fabric.
4. A square cage of carpentry placed over the ridge of a corridor or gallery, between two rows of shops, to illuminate them.
Magic lantern, an optical machine by which painted images are represented so much magnified as to appear like the effect of magic.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: light in a transparent protective case

Merriam Webster's

noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English lanterne, from Anglo-French, from Latin lanterna, from Greek lampt?r, from lampein to shine — more at lamp Date: 13th century 1. a usually portable protective case for a light with transparent openings — compare Chinese lantern 2. a. obsolete lighthouse b. the chamber in a lighthouse containing the light c. a structure with glazed or open sides above an opening in a roof for light or ventilation d. a small tower or cupola or one stage of a cupola 3. projector 2b

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a a lamp with a transparent usu. glass case protecting a candle flame etc. b a similar electric etc. lamp. c its case. 2 a a raised structure on a dome, room, etc., glazed to admit light. b a similar structure for ventilation etc. 3 the light-chamber of a lighthouse. 4 = magic lantern. Phrases and idioms: lantern fish any marine fish of the family Myctophidae, having small light organs on the head and body. lantern-fly (pl. -flies) any tropical homopterous insect of the family Fulgoridae, formerly thought to be luminous. lantern-jawed having lantern jaws. lantern jaws long thin jaws and chin, giving a hollow look to the face. lantern-slide a slide for projection by a magic lantern etc. (see SLIDE n. 5b). lantern-wheel a lantern-shaped gearwheel; a trundle. Etymology: ME f. OF lanterne f. L lanterna f. Gk lampter torch, lamp

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lantern Lan"tern, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lanterned; p. pr. & vb. n. Lanterning.] [Cf. F. lanterner to hang at the lamp post, fr. lanterne. See Lantern.] To furnish with a lantern; as, to lantern a lighthouse.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lantern Lan"tern, n. [F. lanterne, L. lanterna, laterna, from Gr. ? light, torch. See Lamp.] 1. Something inclosing a light, and protecting it from wind, rain, etc.; -- sometimes portable, as a closed vessel or case of horn, perforated tin, glass, oiled paper, or other material, having a lamp or candle within; sometimes fixed, as the glazed inclosure of a street light, or of a lighthouse light. 2. (Arch.) (a) An open structure of light material set upon a roof, to give light and air to the interior. (b) A cage or open chamber of rich architecture, open below into the building or tower which it crowns. (c) A smaller and secondary cupola crowning a larger one, for ornament, or to admit light; such as the lantern of the cupola of the Capitol at Washington, or that of the Florence cathedral. 3. (Mach.) A lantern pinion or trundle wheel. See Lantern pinion (below). 4. (Steam Engine) 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.; -- called also lantern brass. 5. (Founding) A perforated barrel to form a core upon. 6. (Zo["o]l.) See Aristotle's lantern. Note: Fig. 1 represents a hand lantern; fig. 2, an arm lantern; fig. 3, a breast lantern; -- so named from the positions in which they are carried. Dark lantern, a lantern with a single opening, which may be closed so as to conceal the light; -- called also bull's-eye. Lantern fly, Lantern carrier (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large, handsome, hemipterous insects of the genera Laternaria, Fulgora, and allies, of the family Fulgorid[ae]. The largest species is Laternaria phosphorea of Brazil. The head of some species has been supposed to be phosphorescent. Lantern jaws, long, thin jaws; hence, a thin visage. Lantern pinion, Lantern wheel (Mach.), a kind of pinion or wheel having cylindrical bars or trundles, instead of teeth, inserted at their ends in two parallel disks or plates; -- so called as resembling a lantern in shape; -- called also wallower, or trundle. Lantern shell (Zo["o]l.), any translucent, marine, bivalve shell of the genus Anatina, and allied genera. Magic lantern, an optical instrument consisting of a case inclosing a light, and having suitable lenses in a lateral tube, for throwing upon a screen, in a darkened room or the like, greatly magnified pictures from slides placed in the focus of the outer lens.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(lanterns) A lantern is a lamp in a metal frame with glass sides and with a handle on top so you can carry it. N-COUNT

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lan'-tern (phanos, phaino, "to give light"): Lanterns were carried by the mob which arrested Jesus in Gethsemane (Joh 18:3, probably better "torches"). The word "lantern" in the time of early versions had a much wider significance than now. The Romans, however, had lanterns in the times of Christ, made by use of translucent skins, bladders, or thin plates of horn.

Moby Thesaurus

antenna tower, barbican, bay, bay window, belfry, bell tower, bow window, campanile, candle, casement, casement window, ceiling, colossus, column, cupola, derrick, dome, eaves, electric light bulb, fan window, fanlight, fire, fire tower, flame, glim, grille, housetop, illuminant, illuminator, incandescent body, lamp, lancet window, lattice, light, light bulb, light source, lighthouse, louver window, luminant, luminary, martello, martello tower, mast, match, minaret, monument, moon, obelisk, observation tower, oriel, overhead, pagoda, pane, penthouse, picture window, pilaster, pillar, pinnacle, plafond, pole, port, porthole, pylon, pyramid, ridgepole, roof, roof garden, roof-deck, roofage, roofing, roofpole, rooftop, rooftree, rose window, shaft, shingles, skylight, skyscraper, slates, source of light, spire, standpipe, stars, steeple, stupa, sun, taper, television mast, tiles, top, tope, torch, tour, tower, transom, turret, water tower, wicket, windmill tower, window, window bay, window glass, windowpane