lighthouse

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a tower or other coastal structure with a powerful light that warns or guides ships

   The lighthouse flashed twice every ten seconds to mark the harbor entrance.

A compound of light + house, recorded from the early seventeenth century for a building that carries a navigational light. Earlier beacons could be open fires; the compound became associated with permanent coastal towers whose distinctive lights identify hazards and entrances.

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