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beacon

 - 7 dictionary results
Beacon at REI
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bea⋅con

  [bee-kuhn]
Use beacon in a Sentence
–noun
1. a guiding or warning signal, as a light or fire, esp. one in an elevated position.
2. a tower or hill used for such purposes.
3. a lighthouse, signal buoy, etc., on a shore or at a dangerous area at sea to warn and guide vessels.
4. Navigation.
a. radio beacon.
b. a radar device at a fixed location that, upon receiving a radar pulse, transmits a reply pulse that enables the original sender to determine his or her position relative to the fixed location.
5. a person, act, or thing that warns or guides.
6. a person or thing that illuminates or inspires: The Bible has been our beacon during this trouble.
–verb (used with object)
7. to serve as a beacon to; warn or guide.
8. to furnish or mark with beacons: a ship assigned to beacon the shoals.
–verb (used without object)
9. to serve or shine as a beacon: A steady light beaconed from the shore.
Origin:
bef. 950; ME beken, OE bēacen sign, signal; c. OFris bāken, OS bōkan, OHG bouhhan

Related forms:
bea⋅con⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
1. beam, buoy, pharos; signal fire; balefire.
Beacon at REI
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Bea⋅con

  [bee-kuhn]
–noun
a city in SE New York. 12,937.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To beacon
bea·con   (bē'kən)   
n.  

  1. A signaling or guiding device, such as a lighthouse, located on a coast.

  2. A radio transmitter that emits a characteristic guidance signal for aircraft.

  3. A source of guidance or inspiration.

  4. A signal fire, especially one used to warn of an enemy's approach.

tr. & intr.v.   bea·coned, bea·con·ing, bea·cons
To provide with or shine as a beacon.

[Middle English beken, from Old English bēacen; see bhā-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

beacon 
O.E. beacen "sign, portent, lighthouse," from W.Gmc. *bauknan (cf. O.Fris. bacen, M.Du. bokin, O.H.G. bouhhan); not found outside Gmc. Perhaps borrowed from L. bucina "a crooked horn or trumpet, signal horn." But more likely from PIE *bhau-, a variant of the base *bha "to gleam, shine."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

BEACON

A Boston Stock Exchange computerized system for automatically executing orders for stocks listed on any of the U.S. securities exchanges. Executions are made based on the prices posted in the consolidated market. Also called Boston Exchange Automated Communications Order-Routing Network.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Bible Dictionary

Beacon

a pole (Heb. to'ren) used as a standard or ensign set on the tops of mountains as a call to the people to assemble themselves for some great national purpose (Isa. 30:17). In Isa. 33:23 and Ezek. 27:5, the same word is rendered "mast." (See Banner.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Encyclopedia

Beacon

city, Dutchess county, southeastern New York, U.S. It lies at the foot of Mount Beacon, on the east bank of the Hudson River (there bridged to Newburgh), 58 miles (93 km) north of New York City. It became a city when the 17th-century villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing were united in 1913. The name was inspired by the fires that blazed atop Mount Beacon during the American Revolution to warn George Washington of British troop movements; the mountain was later a resort, and the Mount Beacon Incline Railway (operated 1901-72) ascended its west spur (1,540 feet [469 metres] above the river). Industrialization began after the War of 1812 when businessman John Jacob Astor and others built a cotton mill and foundry. Manufactures include clothing, hats, countertops, and rubber fabricated products; the city also is the home of one of the world's largest art foundries. Madam Brett Homestead (1709) in Beacon and Van Wyck Homestead (1732; site of courts-martial during the American Revolution) in nearby Fishkill are preserved as museums. Pop. (1990) 13,243; (2000) 13,808.

Learn more about Beacon with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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