lighthouse keeper
5
5.0
- noun
- /ˈlaɪthaʊs ˈkiːpər/
- Archaic
:
farero
- Every summer, the lighthouse keeper welcomed tourists and told them about the history of the lighthouse.
Examples
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For instance, I recently spent time as a lighthouse keeper on an isolated, narrow spit out on an ocean strait.
Academic text (2009) -
ARTHUR: My father was a lighthouse keeper.
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Ricardo the lighthouse keeper is my only friend.
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That was the lighthouse keeper on San Clemente Island.
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It was the lighthouse keeper who saw the Port of Call go down.
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The new lighthouse keeper, the townspeople think, keeps a splendid light.
Fiction book (1999) -
Alone at night in the lighthouse, the lighthouse keeper checks the kerosene font and leans on the railing in the lantern gallery.
Fiction book (1999) -
The lighthouse keeper ensured the light was visible to passing ships during the storm.
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Living alone on the island, the lighthouse keeper maintained the tower and checked the light every night.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person who maintains and operates a lighthouse' is directly and compositionally derived from 'lighthouse' (a coastal structure with a guiding light) + 'keeper' (someone who guards or maintains). This noun–noun compound follows a common, cross-linguistically transparent pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Lighthouse keeper comes from the simple image of a person who looks after the lighthouse: the keeper lights the lamp, cleans the glass, and watches the sea from the tower. Because the keeper's job was to keep the light burning 'to guide ships', the phrase means 'a person who takes care of and runs a lighthouse'.