Definitions

Sorry, no definitions found. Check out and contribute to the discussion of this word!

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word beacon-fire.

Examples

  • For ten years he had waited for the signal of the beacon-fire to be lit at Nauplia, the port of Argos, to announce the fall of Troy.

    Authors of Greece T. W. Lumb

  • The beacon-fire was known to the ancients, and the fire-towers of the Mediterranean were justly celebrated.

    Grace Darling Heroine of the Farne Islands Eva Hope

  • "Thou wilt have it a beacon-fire," Eloisà interposed again; "it is in truth more romantic than a blaze some wanderer may have lighted to do duty for his camp."

    The Royal Pawn of Venice A Romance of Cyprus Lawrence Turnbull

  • Meanwhile, Li Hsiung's general, Li Hsiang, had prepared an ambuscade on their line of march; and P ` o-t ` ai, having reared long scaling-ladders against the city walls, now lighted the beacon-fire.

    The Art of War 6th cent. B.C. Sunzi

  • On the opposite side of the steep-sided dale Penhill stands out prominently, with its flat summit reflecting just enough of the setting sun to recall a momentous occasion when from that commanding spot a real beacon-fire sent up a great mass of flame and sparks.

    Yorkshire Gordon Home 1923

  • The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the road to the heart of the species problem lay through them until Darwin and Wallace dispelled the darkness, and the beacon-fire of the

    Thomas Henry Huxley Huxley, Leonard, 1860-1933 1920

  • The ancient Arabs always lit a beacon-fire as a proclamation of war, or a notice of the approach of an enemy.

    Medina Suras. The Chapter of the Table. 1909

  • Remember on the third night to kindle the big fire we've agreed on just outside your door on the terrace -- the beacon-fire, you know.

    Darkness and Dawn George Allan England 1906

  • The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the road to the heart of the species problem lay through them, until Darwin and Wallace dispelled the darkness, and the beacon-fire of the

    Thomas Henry Huxley; A Sketch Of His Life And Work 1904

  • There, the seventh day before the kalends, in the middle hour of the night, you shall see a beacon-fire and near it my colors.

    Vergilius A Tale of the Coming of Christ Irving Bacheller 1904

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.