balefire

English

Etymology

From Middle English bale-fyre, from Old English bǣlfȳr (“balefire, funeral or sacrificial fire”); equivalent to bale (“funeral pyre”) +‎ fire.

Noun

balefire (plural balefires)

1. A bonfire, any large outdoor fire (for example those used in a funeral pyre, or in witches' rituals).
   • 2002, Marilyn F. Daniel, Kitchen Witchery‎^[1], Weiser, →ISBN, page 236:

     Rites done on a lakeshore or seashore can be illuminated with balefires of dried driftwood collected prior to the rite.

Related terms

• bale
• fire

Translations

ritual bonfire

• Spanish: fogata de brujos f

See also

• bonfire
• pyre

Anagrams

• afebrile, fireable