lantern
lan·tern/ˈlæ̝ntɚn/noun, verb, adjective
lantern is spelled L-A-N-T-E-R-N, 2 syllables: lan·tern. The wrong spelling people search most is lanturn: about 490 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 18 of all searches for the word. Lantern is a noun meaning “A case of translucent or transparent material made to protect a flame, or light, used to illuminate its…”. The plural of lantern is lanterns.
How many letters and syllables are in lantern?
| Letters | 7: L-A-N-T-E-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: lan·tern |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, lanturn, about 490 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell lantern?
Lantern is spelled L-A-N-T-E-R-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 18 of the searches for lantern in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is lantern?
Lantern appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lantern?
- UK /ˈlæntən/
- US /ˈlæ̝ntɚn/
- /ˈleə̯ntɚn/
Lantern has 2 syllables, split lan·tern in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lantern.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lantern
- lanterns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lanterning participle, present
- lanterned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lantern mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A case of translucent or transparent material made to protect a flame, or light, used to illuminate its surroundings.
- 2
Especially, a metal casing with lens used to illuminate a stage (e.g. spotlight, floodlight).
- 3
An open structure of light material set upon a roof, to give light and air to the interior.
- 4
A cage or open chamber of rich architecture, open below into the building or tower which it crowns.
- 5
A smaller and secondary cupola crowning a larger one, for ornament, or to admit light.
the lantern of the cupola of the Capitol at Washington, or that of the Florence cathedral
- 6
A lantern pinion or trundle wheel.
- 7
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.; a lantern brass.
- 8
A light formerly used as a signal by a railway guard or conductor at night.
verb
- 1
To furnish with a lantern.
to lantern a lighthouse
adjective
- 1
Of a facial feature, large and squarish in shape as an old-fashioned lantern.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lantern in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lanterne |
| German | Laterne , Dachfenster, Dachflächenfenster |
| Portuguese | lanterna |
| Spanish | farol, fogaril, candil, capuchina, quinqué, candileja |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lantern come from?
From Middle English lanterne (13th century), via Old French lanterne from Latin lanterna (“lantern”), itself a corruption of Ancient Greek λαμπτήρ (lamptḗr, “torch”) (see lamp, λάμπω (lámpō)) by influence of Latin lucerna (“lamp”). The spelling lanthorn was current during the 16th to 19th centuries and originates with a folk etymology associating the word with the use of horn as translucent cover. For the verb, compare French lanterner to hang at the lamppost. Displaced native Old English lēohtfæt (literally “light-container”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).