| aristotle's lantern | <zoology> The five united jaws and accessory ossicles of certain sea urchins. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| lantern | 1. Something inclosing a light, and protecting it from wind, rain, etc.; sometimes portable, as a closed vessel or case of horn, perforated tin, glass, oiled paper, or other material, having a lamp or candle within; sometimes fixed, as the glazed inclosure of a street light, or of a lighthouse light. 2. An open structure of light material set upon a roof, to give light and air to the interior. A cage or open chamber of rich architecture, open below into the building or tower which it crowns. A smaller and secondary cupola crowning a larger one, for ornament, or to admit light; such as the lantern of the cupola of the Capitol at Washington, or that of the Florence cathedral. 3. <machinery> A lantern pinion or trundle wheel. See Lantern pinion (below). 4. <engineering> 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.; called also lantern brass. 5. A perforated barrel to form a core upon. 6. <zoology> See Aristotle's lantern. Fig. 1 represents a hand lantern; fig. 2, an arm lantern; fig. 3, a breast lantern; so named from the positions in which they are carried. Dark lantern, a lantern with a single opening, which may be closed so as to conceal the light; called also bull's-eye. Lantern fly, Lantern carrier, any translucent, marine, bivalve shell of the genus Anatina, and allied genera. Magic lantern, an optical instrument consisting of a case inclosing a light, and having suitable lenses in a lateral tube, for throwing upon a screen, in a darkened room or the like, greatly magnified pictures from slides placed in the focus of the outer lens. Origin: F. Lanterne, L. Lanterna, laterna, from Gr. Light, torch. See Lamp. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Fresnel lantern | A lantern having a lamp surrounded by a hollow cylindrical Fresnel lens. Origin: From Fresnel the inventor, a French physicist. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |