Lantern \Lan"tern\, n. [F. lanterne, L. lanterna, laterna, from
Gr. ? light, torch. See Lamp.]
1. Something inclosing a light, and protecting it from wind,
rain, etc.; -- sometimes portable, as a closed vessel or
case of horn, perforated tin, glass, oiled paper, or other
material, having a lamp or candle within; sometimes fixed,
as the glazed inclosure of a street light, or of a
lighthouse light.
2. (Arch.)
(a) An open structure of light material set upon a roof,
to give light and air to the interior.
(b) A cage or open chamber of rich architecture, open
below into the building or tower which it crowns.
(c) A smaller and secondary cupola crowning a larger one,
for ornament, or to admit light; such as the lantern
of the cupola of the Capitol at Washington, or that of
the Florence cathedral.
3. (Mach.) A lantern pinion or trundle wheel. See Lantern
pinion (below).
4. (Steam Engine) A kind of cage inserted in a stuffing box
and surrounding a piston rod, to separate the packing into
two parts and form a chamber between for the reception of
steam, etc.; -- called also lantern brass.
5. (Founding) A perforated barrel to form a core upon.
6. (Zo["o]l.) See Aristotle's lantern.
Note: Fig. 1 represents a hand lantern; fig. 2, an arm
lantern; fig. 3, a breast lantern; -- so named from the
positions in which they are carried.
Dark lantern, a lantern with a single opening, which may be
closed so as to conceal the light; -- called also
bull's-eye.
Lantern fly, Lantern carrier (Zo["o]l.), any one of
several species of large, handsome, hemipterous insects of
the genera Laternaria, Fulgora, and allies, of the
family Fulgorid[ae]. The largest species is Laternaria
phosphorea of Brazil. The head of some species has been
supposed to be phosphorescent.
Lantern jaws, long, thin jaws; hence, a thin visage.
Lantern pinion, Lantern wheel (Mach.), a kind of pinion
or wheel having cylindrical bars or trundles, instead of
teeth, inserted at their ends in two parallel disks or
plates; -- so called as resembling a lantern in shape; --
called also wallower, or trundle.
Lantern shell (Zo["o]l.), any translucent, marine, bivalve
shell of the genus Anatina, and allied genera.
Magic lantern, an optical instrument consisting of a case
inclosing a light, and having suitable lenses in a lateral
tube, for throwing upon a screen, in a darkened room or
the like, greatly magnified pictures from slides placed in
the focus of the outer lens.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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