balefire
Americannoun
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a large fire in the open air; bonfire.
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a signal fire; beacon.
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the fire of a funeral pile.
noun
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a bonfire
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a beacon fire
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a funeral pyre
Etymology
Origin of balefire
1250–1300; Middle English bal ( e ) fir, equivalent to bale (< Old Norse bāl funeral pyre) + fire fire; replacing Old English bǣlfȳr
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A single window in the wing gleamed like a balefire in the rays of the setting sun.
From Shapes that Haunt the Dusk by Howells, William Dean
Up to the window the company crowded, and they could see the balefire blazing hotly against the cool light of the moon and the widely sprinkled stars.
From John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn by Munro, Neil
"Ay, ay!" he said in the English, after a pause that kept the room more intent on his face than on the balefire.
From John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn by Munro, Neil
The wise old man spake much in his sorrow, and sent you greetings and bade that ye build, when he breathed no more, on the place of his balefire a barrow high, memorial mighty.
From Beowulf by Gummere, Francis Barton
Like a balefire should the flame go up that says the king is dead.
From Erechtheus A Tragedy (New Edition) by Swinburne, Algernon Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
