Meanings
plural balefires
- A bonfire, any large outdoor fire (for example those used in a funeral pyre, or in witches' rituals).
Rites done on a lakeshore or seashore can be illuminated with balefires of dried driftwood collected prior to the rite.
2002, Marilyn F. Daniel, Kitchen Witchery, Weiser, →ISBN, page 236
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishbǣlfȳr“balefire, funeral or sacrificial fire”
- Middle Englishbale-fyre
- Englishbalefire
From Middle English bale-fyre, from Old English bǣlfȳr (“balefire, funeral or sacrificial fire”); equivalent to bale (“funeral pyre”) + fire.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish rytualne ognisko
- rytualne ogniskoritual bonfire
Spanish fogata de brujos
- fogata de brujosritual bonfire
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
balefire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balefire
“balefire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balefire. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “balefire,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balefire.
Source: balefire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.