beacon: [OE] In Old English, bēacen meant simply ‘sign’; it did not develop its modern senses ‘signal fire’ and ‘lighthouse’ until the 14th century. Its source is West Germanic *baukna, from which English also gets beckon [OE]. => beckon
beacon (n.)
Old English beacen "sign, portent, lighthouse," from West Germanic *baukna "beacon, signal" (cognates: Old Frisian baken, Old Saxon bokan, Old High German bouhhan); not found outside Germanic. Perhaps borrowed from Latin bucina "a crooked horn or trumpet, signal horn." But more likely from PIE *bhew-, a variant of the base *bha- (1) "to gleam, shine" (see phantasm). Figurative use from c. 1600.
实用例句
1. General Rudnicki was a moral beacon for many exiled Poles.
鲁德尼茨基将军是众多被放逐的波兰人精神上的引路人。
来自柯林斯例句
2. He was a beacon of hope for the younger generation.
他是年轻一代的希望之灯。
来自《权威词典》
3. A wreck on shore is a beacon at sea.
前车之覆,后车之鉴.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.
灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见.
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. Our Parliament has been a beacon of hope to the peoples of Europe.
