phare
(fɛə(r))
[a. F. phare (1553 in Hatz.-Darm.), ad. L. phar-us, a. Gr. ϕάρος: see pharos.]
1. A lighthouse; = Pharos1 2. Also fig.
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., Phare,..a Tower or high place by the Sea coast, wherein were continually lights and fires, which served Seamen to see the Haven. 1668 Smith Voy. Constantinople in Misc. Cur. (1708) III. 23 On the Sandy Banks stands the Phare or Watch-tower. 1835 Browning Paracelsus v. 386 Sun!..what care If lower mountains light their snowy phares At thine effulgence, yet acknowledge not The source of day? 1845 ― Lett. (1899) I. 18 Like the light in those crazy Mediterranean phares I have watched at sea. |
† 2. A strait or channel lighted by a pharos; the Strait of Messina: cf. fare n.3 Obs.
| 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 246 The Phare of Messina (for so these streights are now called of the Lanterne that stands on the point of Pelorus). 1652 Howell Giraffi's Rev. Naples ii. Proem, The flames thereof flew ore the Phare of Messina into Calabria. 1723 Lond. Gaz. No. 6176/1 Near the Phare of Messina. |