Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LAN'TERN, n. [Fr. lanterne; L. laterna; G. laterne; D. lantaarn; Sp. linterna.]

1. A case or vessel made of tin perforated with many holes, or of some transparent substance, as glass, horn, or oiled paper; used for carrying a candle or other light into the open air, or into stables, &c. – Locke. A dark lantern is one with a single opening, which may be closed so as to conceal the light.
2. A light-house or light to direct the course of ships. – Addison.
3. In architecture, a little dome raised over the roof of a building to give light, and to serve as a crowning to the fabric. – Encyc.
4. A square cage of carpentry placed over the ridge of a corridor or gallery, between two rows of shops, to illuminate them. – Encyc. Magic lantern, an optical machine by which painted images are represented so much magnified as to appear like the effect of magic.