Etymology

balefire

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Today it means: A bonfire, any large outdoor fire (for example those used in a funeral pyre, or in witches' rituals). Full definition →

Middle English bale-fyre ← Old English bǣlfȳr
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited frombǣlfȳr“balefire, funeral or sacrificial fire”
  2. Middle English · inherited frombale-fyre
  3. English todaybalefire

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.