[lan-tern] 
| 1. | a transparent or translucent, usually portable, case for enclosing a light and protecting it from the wind, rain, etc. |
| 2. | the chamber at the top of a lighthouse, surrounding the light. |
| 3. | magic lantern. |
| 4. | Architecture.
|
| 5. | a light, usually over the entrance to an elevator on each floor of a multistory building, that signals the approach of the elevator. |
r lamp, light
| lan·tern (lān'tərn) n.
[Middle English, from Old French lanterne, from Latin lanterna, from Greek lamptēr, from lampein, to shine.] |
lantern
in architecture, originally an openwork timber construction placed on top of a building to admit light and allow smoke to escape. Something of this idea persists in medieval examples such as the lantern above the central octagon of Ely Cathedral (14th century). The term lantern soon came to refer to the open top story of a tower, because such a construction resembled a lamp container and because beacons were occasionally placed there.
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