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Glite Dictionary
🎯 The target center 🪔 A special lantern
bull's-eye

bull's-eye

1 8.8
A small lantern with a sliding cover to hide its light
  • noun
  • /ˈbʊlzˌaɪ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : lámpara de ojo de buey
  • During the camping trip, they relied on a bull's-eye lantern to guide them after sunset.
  • bull's-eye lantern

Examples

  • "A few moments later, Harry, carrying a bull's-eye lantern, was following the bulldog into the woods beyond the inn.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • He used a bull's-eye lantern to light the path during their night hike.

  • The old bull's-eye lantern provided just enough illumination for them to find their way.

Synonyms

lantern
vsbull's-eye
113 1.0

A small portable light with a clear cover that you can carry or hang

focuses on concealing light with a sliding cover rather than open visibility
dark lantern
vsbull's-eye
  • Archaic
9.9

A lantern with a sliding cover that hides its light

has identical meaning and is a different name for it
lanthorn
vsbull's-eye
  • Archaic
9.9

A light you can carry with a cover that protects a flame or bulb

is the modern form rather than the old spelling
hurricane lantern
vsbull's-eye
4.7

A portable oil lamp with a glass cover that protects the flame from wind

emphasizes concealment of the flame instead of wind protection
tornado lantern
vsbull's-eye
  • US
8.3

An oil lamp with a glass chimney and a metal lid that protects the flame from strong wind

is about hiding the light rather than shielding it from wind

Surface Forms

bull's-eye singular
bull's-eyes plural

Morphology

bull's-eye = bull + eye (opaque) = bull + eye

Although historically formed from 'bull' + 'eye', the specialized meaning referring to a lantern/glass object is technical and not derivable by ordinary compositional rules.

Etymology

Bull's-eye was also the name for a small lantern with one opening and a sliding panel because the light shone through a round glass 'bull's eye' that could be covered to hide the light. So a bull's-eye lantern is a light you can open or close to show or hide its beam.