watch fire
- noun
- Archaic
:
fuego de vigilancia
- They used a bright watch fire to guide the returning soldiers safely back to camp.
Examples
-
Wings extended, the Rocs skimmed the watch fires, choosing those that were close to dying, and snatched up bunches of the burning embers with their hardened claws.
Fiction book (1993) -
Ahead, the watch fires of the Federation soldiers camped within the Kennon Pass were lit, meals were consumed, and guards sent to their posts.
Fiction book (1993) -
The guards lit the watch fire to signal that the area was secure during the night.
-
As darkness fell, the sentinels gathered around the watch fire to stay warm and keep vigilant.
Synonyms
3
4.2
A fire lit to attract attention and show where people are
1
8.3
A fire lit on a hill or tower to signal people far away
Surface Forms
Morphology
This noun–noun combination is directly compositional: 'watch' (a period/team assigned to guard) + 'fire' (a burning flame) yields a fire associated with or maintained for the watch (i.e., a signal/guard fire). The relation follows a predictable English compound pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings, even if the term is somewhat literary or historical.
Etymology
Watch fire comes from the simple picture of guards lighting a fire on a hill so people could watch it from far away; the bright fire was a signal to warn others or call for help. That's why watch fire means 'a fire lit and kept burning at night to serve as a signal'.