beacon.
A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
Meaning & usage
A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
A signal, buoy, post, or other conspicuous mark erected on an eminence near the shore, or moored in shoal water, as a guide to mariners, particularly to warn vessels of danger.
A high hill or other easily distinguishable object near the shore which can serve as guidance for seafarers.
That which gives notice of danger, hope, etc., or keeps people on the correct path; a source of inspiration.
a beacon of hope
An electronic device that broadcasts a signal to nearby portable devices, enabling smartphones etc. to perform actions when in physical proximity to the beacon.
Ellipsis of web beacon.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *baukną Proto-West Germanic *baukn Old English bēacn Middle English beken English beacon From Middle English beken, from Old English bēacn (“sign, signal”), from Proto-West Germanic *baukn, from Proto-Germanic *baukną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂u-, *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of buoy. Compare West Frisian beaken (“buoy”), Dutch baken (“beacon”), Middle Low German bāke (“beacon, sign”), German Bake (“traffic sign”), Middle High German bouchen (“sign”).
To act as a beacon.
To give light to, as a beacon; to light up; to illumine.
To furnish with a beacon or beacons.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *baukną Proto-West Germanic *baukn Old English bēacn Middle English beken English beacon From Middle English beken, from Old English bēacn (“sign, signal”), from Proto-West Germanic *baukn, from Proto-Germanic *baukną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂u-, *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of buoy. Compare West Frisian beaken (“buoy”), Dutch baken (“beacon”), Middle Low German bāke (“beacon, sign”), German Bake (“traffic sign”), Middle High German bouchen (“sign”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.