Lighthouse

How to spell lighthouse

10 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce lighthouse

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does lighthouse mean?

1. nounA tower on or near the coast that displays a strong light to guide and warn ships at sea.

Lighthouse in a sentence

• The old lighthouse on the headland still warns ships away from the rocks.

• They booked a weekend stay in a converted lighthouse overlooking the bay.

Where does lighthouse come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent compound of two very old native English words, 'light' and 'house'. 'Light' descends from the Old English leoht, meaning brightness or illumination, while 'house' comes from the Old English hus, a dwelling or building; both have deep Germanic roots shared with German Licht and Haus. The compound itself is relatively young, appearing in English in the early 1600s to describe a tower that shows a guiding light to ships at sea. The idea long predates the word, of course: the ancient Pharos of Alexandria was one of the famous towers, but English speakers simply joined two familiar words rather than borrow a foreign term. Because both halves are common everyday words, the only real spelling care is remembering to keep the silent 'gh' in 'light' and to write it as a single solid compound rather than two words.

How the word is built

• light (light, from Old English leoht)
• house (dwelling, from Old English hus)