Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Lantern \Lan"tern\, n. [F. lanterne, L. lanterna, laterna, from
   Gr. ? light, torch. See {Lamp}.]
   1. Something inclosing a light, and protecting it from wind,
      rain, etc.; -- sometimes portable, as a closed vessel or
      case of horn, perforated tin, glass, oiled paper, or other
      material, having a lamp or candle within; sometimes fixed,
      as the glazed inclosure of a street light, or of a
      lighthouse light.

   2. (Arch.)
      (a) An open structure of light material set upon a roof,
          to give light and air to the interior.
      (b) A cage or open chamber of rich architecture, open
          below into the building or tower which it crowns.
      (c) A smaller and secondary cupola crowning a larger one,
          for ornament, or to admit light; such as the lantern
          of the cupola of the Capitol at Washington, or that of
          the Florence cathedral.

   3. (Mach.) A lantern pinion or trundle wheel. See {Lantern
      pinion} (below).

   4. (Steam Engine) A kind of cage inserted in a stuffing box
      and surrounding a piston rod, to separate the packing into
      two parts and form a chamber between for the reception of
      steam, etc.; -- called also {lantern brass}.

   5. (Founding) A perforated barrel to form a core upon.

   6. (Zo["o]l.) See {Aristotle's lantern}.

   Note: Fig. 1 represents a hand lantern; fig. 2, an arm
         lantern; fig. 3, a breast lantern; -- so named from the
         positions in which they are carried.

   {Dark lantern}, a lantern with a single opening, which may be
      closed so as to conceal the light; -- called also
      {bull's-eye}.

   {Lantern fly}, {Lantern carrier} (Zo["o]l.), any one of
      several species of large, handsome, hemipterous insects of
      the genera {Laternaria}, {Fulgora}, and allies, of the
      family {Fulgorid[ae]}. The largest species is {Laternaria
      phosphorea} of Brazil. The head of some species has been
      supposed to be phosphorescent.

   {Lantern jaws}, long, thin jaws; hence, a thin visage.

   {Lantern pinion}, {Lantern wheel} (Mach.), a kind of pinion
      or wheel having cylindrical bars or trundles, instead of
      teeth, inserted at their ends in two parallel disks or
      plates; -- so called as resembling a lantern in shape; --
      called also {wallower}, or {trundle}.

   {Lantern shell} (Zo["o]l.), any translucent, marine, bivalve
      shell of the genus {Anatina}, and allied genera.

   {Magic lantern}, an optical instrument consisting of a case
      inclosing a light, and having suitable lenses in a lateral
      tube, for throwing upon a screen, in a darkened room or
      the like, greatly magnified pictures from slides placed in
      the focus of the outer lens.

Source : WordNet®

lantern fly
     n : large brightly marked tropical insect with a process like a
         snout that was formerly thought to emit light [syn: {lantern-fly}]