English
beacon
Beacon comes from Middle English beken ‘a beacon’, from Old English bēacn ‘sign, signal’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to shine, glow light’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baukną‘sign, symbol’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*baukn‘sign, symbol, signal’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bēacn‘sign, signal’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500beken‘a beacon’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1602beacon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to shine, glow light’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baukną‘sign, symbol’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*baukn‘sign, symbol, signal’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bēacn‘sign, signal’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500beken‘a beacon’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1602beacon
Earliest quotation: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “Modest doubt is called / The beacon of the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine, glow light’
phone, focus, professor, famous, fuel, phase, favor, favourite, ban, fantasy, fate, fancy, ben, fame, photographer, emphasis, fatal, fairy, fabulous, infant, profession, phenomenon, abandon, phantom, bee, symphony, confession, eff, fab, confess, fay, bane, prophetic, epiphany, fable, boon, foyer, banish, nefarious, profess, 125 more
through Proto-Germanic *baukną ‘sign, symbol’
through Proto-West Germanic *baukn ‘sign, symbol, signal’
through Middle English beken ‘a beacon’
Today it means
noun A signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy, or to give any notice, commonly of warning.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / beacon