bonfire

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• /ˈbɒnfaɪəɹ/
  Play
• [ˈbɒɱˌfaɪ̯ɚ]
  Play
• Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbɒnfaɪə/
  Play
• General-American: /ˈbɑnˌfaɪɚ/
  Play
• [ˈb̥ɒ̃ɱfaɛ̯ɚ] Southern US, African-American Vernacular
  Play
• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play
• CMU ARPABET: B AA1 N F AY2 ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  Play

PIE word *péh2wr̥ From Middle English bonnefyre (“a fire in which bones are burnt, bonfire”) [and other forms], by surface analysis, bone + fire. Replaced earlier Middle English bale-fyre, from Old English bǣlfȳr (see balefire). The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) notes that bonfires, originally lit as part of midsummer celebrations, were not generally associated with the burning of bones. However, the first edition of the OED (under the title A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 1887) stated that “for the annual midsummer ‘banefire’ or ‘bonfire’ in the burgh of Hawick [in Roxburghshire, Scotland], old bones were regularly collected and stored up, down to c. 1800”. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognate with Scots banefire (“bonfire”).

106 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: مَشْعَل (mašʕal) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Armenian: խարույկ (xaruyk) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Belarusian: во́гнішча (vóhnišča) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Belarusian: касцёр (kascjór) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Bhojpuri: 𑂃𑂪𑂰𑂫 (alāv) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Bhojpuri: 𑂐𑂴𑂩𑂰 (ghūrā) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Bhojpuri: 𑂍𑂸𑂚𑂰 (kauṛā) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Breton: tantad — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Catalan: foguera — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Chinese Mandarin: 篝火 (gōuhuǒ) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Czech: táborák — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Czech: vatra — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Danish: bål — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Dutch: vreugdevuur — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Esperanto: rubfajro — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Esperanto: festfajro — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Finnish: kokko — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Finnish: rovio — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Finnish: nuotio — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• French: feu de joie — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Galician: cacharela — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Galician: fogueira — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Galician: lumeirada — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• German: Freudenfeuer — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Hebrew: מְדוּרָה (medurá) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Hindi: अलाव (alāv) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Hungarian: örömtűz — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Icelandic: bál — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Icelandic: varðeldur — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Irish: tine chnámh — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Italian: falò — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Japanese: 焚き火 — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Japanese: たき火 (takibi) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Japanese: 篝火 — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Japanese: かがり火 (kagaribi) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Kaitag: цӏа (c̣a) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Kaitag: гургума́й (gurgumáj) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Korean: 화톳불 (hwatotbul) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Korean: 모닥불 (modakbul) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Latvian: ugunskurs — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Lithuanian: laužas — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Lü: ᦂᦸᧂᦺᦝ (k̇oangfay) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Macedonian: логорски оган (logorski ogan) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Magahi: 𑂃𑂪𑂰𑂫 (alāo) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Magahi: 𑂐𑂴𑂚𑂱 (ghūṛi) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Maithili: घूर (ghūr) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Maithili: घूड़ि (ghūṛɨ) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Maithili: घुड़ारी (ghuṛārī) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Maithili: अलाव (alāv) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Nandi: korosio — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Norman: fouée — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Norman: feu d'jouaie — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Norwegian Bokmål: bål — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Norwegian Nynorsk: bål — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Old English: bæl — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Polish: ognisko — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Portuguese: fogueira — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Romanian: foc de tabără — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Russian: костёр (kostjór) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Serbo-Croatian: ло̀мача — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Serbo-Croatian: lòmača — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Slovak: táborák — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Slovene: kres — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Spanish: fogata — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Spanish: fogón — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Swedish: bål — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Swedish: lägereld — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Swedish: brasa — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Thai: กองไฟ (gɔɔng-fai) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Turkish: şenlik ateşi — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Ukrainian: бага́ття (baháttja) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Ukrainian: во́гнище (vóhnyšče) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Welsh: coelcerth — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Welsh: goddaith — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Yiddish: שײַטער (shayter) — large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal
• Armenian: խարույկ (xaruyk) — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Basque: sutzar — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Catalan: foguera — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Chinese Mandarin: 篝火 (gōuhuǒ) — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Dutch: brandstapel — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Esperanto: rubfajro — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Finnish: rovio — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• French: bûcher — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Galician: fogueira — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Galician: lumeirada — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• German: Scheiterhaufen — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Hebrew: מְדוּרָה (medurá) — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Hungarian: máglya — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Irish: tine chnámh — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Italian: falò — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Italian: rogo — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Lithuanian: laužas — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Polish: stos — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Portuguese: fogueira — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Romanian: rug — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Russian: костёр (kostjór) — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Serbo-Croatian: ло̀мача — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Serbo-Croatian: lòmača — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Spanish: hoguera — fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items
• Polish: ognisko — something like a bonfire in heat, destructiveness, ferocity, etc.
• Polish: spalać — to destroy (something) by, or as if by, burning on a bonfire
• Polish: spalić — to destroy (something) by, or as if by, burning on a bonfire
• Polish: wypalać — to fire (pottery) using a bonfire
• Polish: wypalić — to fire (pottery) using a bonfire
• Polish: rozpalać ognisko — to make, or celebrate around, a bonfire
• Polish: rozpalić ognisko — to make, or celebrate around, a bonfire