Beacon Hill

1 5.3

An old, fashionable neighbourhood in Boston with long rows of brick houses and the state government building

proper noun
/ˈbiːkən hɪl/

: Beacon Hill

Walking through Beacon Hill, you can see beautiful gardens and charming cobblestone paths.
Beacon Hill in Boston
streets of Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill girls

Examples

Now, this is the famous Beacon Hill.

Miracles from Heaven (2016)
Beacon Hill, you can see it.

The Departed (2006)
It's the grandest house on Beacon Hill.

Infinitely Polar Bear (2014)
The Massachusetts State House is a prominent landmark in the historic Beacon Hill district.
Many visitors admire the Federal-style rowhouses that line the streets of Beacon Hill.

Surface Forms

Beacon Hill main

Morphology

Beacon + hill

The constituent words 'beacon' and 'hill' transparently signal a geographic feature (a hill with a beacon), so a B1 learner who knows those words would infer a place-related meaning. However, the full lexicalized meaning — a specific historic and fashionable district of Boston with particular cultural and architectural associations — is not derivable from the parts alone, making the expression only partly predictable.

Etymology

Beacon Hill is named after a real beacon (a fire or light) that people once lit on a hill to 'warn' residents or to 'guide' ships. That's why the Boston neighborhood kept the name Beacon Hill, and the picture of a light on a hill helps you remember this old area.