Monday, 14 December 2015

etymology - From pharos to lighthouse

Pharos and lighthouse indicate:




  • a tall structure topped by a powerful light used as a beacon or signal to aid nautical navigation.



Ngram shows that lighthouse usage has been preferred to that of pharos from the beginning of the 19th century.



Etymology:



Pharos:




  • as a word for a lighthouse, 1550s, in reference to the island of Pharos off the coast of Alexandria, on which Ptolemy Philadelphius built a mighty lighthouse.



Lighthouse:




  • 1620s, from light (n.) + house (n.). (etymonline)



Is there a reason for the fact that a different term was coined just a few decades later just for such a specific construction and for the fact lighthouse became the more common between the two (nautical paper jargon for instance) ?

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