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—beaconless, adj./bee"keuhn/, n.1. a guiding or warning signal, as a light or fire, esp. one in an elevated position.2. a tower or hill used for such purposes.3. a lighthouse, signal buoy, etc., on a shore or at a dangerous area at sea to warn and guide vessels.4. Navig.a. See radio beacon.b. a radar device at a fixed location that, upon receiving a radar pulse, transmits a reply pulse that enables the original sender to determine his or her position relative to the fixed location.5. a person, act, or thing that warns or guides.6. a person or thing that illuminates or inspires: The Bible has been our beacon during this trouble.v.t.7. to serve as a beacon to; warn or guide.8. to furnish or mark with beacons: a ship assigned to beacon the shoals.v.i.9. to serve or shine as a beacon: A steady light beaconed from the shore.[bef. 950; ME beken, OE beacen sign, signal; c. OFris baken, OS bokan, OHG bouhhan]Syn. 1. beam, buoy, pharos; signal fire; balefire.
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city, Dutchess county, southeastern New York, U.S. It lies at the foot of Mount Beacon, on the east bank of the Hudson River (there bridged to Newburgh), 58 miles (93 km) north of New York City. It became a city when the 17th-century villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing were united in 1913. The name was inspired by the fires that blazed atop Mount Beacon during the American Revolution to warn George Washington (Washington, George) of British troop movements; the mountain was later a resort, and the Mount Beacon Incline Railway (operated 1901–72) ascended its west spur (1,540 feet [469 metres] above the river). Industrialization began after the War of 1812 when businessman John Jacob Astor (Astor, John Jacob) and others built a cotton mill and foundry. Manufactures include clothing, hats, countertops, and rubber fabricated products; the city also is the home of one of the world's largest art foundries. Madam Brett Homestead (1709) in Beacon and Van Wyck Homestead (1732; site of courts-martial during the American Revolution) in nearby Fishkill are preserved as museums. Pop. (1990) 13,243; (2000) 13,808.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
