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Pyre vs Bonfire - What's the difference?

pyre | bonfire |

As nouns the difference between pyre and bonfire

is that pyre is a funeral pile; a combustible heap on which corpses are burned while bonfire is a fire in which bones were burned.

pyre

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A funeral pile; a combustible heap on which corpses are burned.
  • :* For nine long nights, through all the dusky air, The pyres thick flaming shot a dismal glare. - Homer Iliad, p. 31
  • Any heap or pile of combustibles.

    • Related terms

    * empyreal, empyrean

    Anagrams

    *

    External links

    * (wikipedia "pyre")

    bonfire

    English

    (wikipedia bonfire)

    Alternative forms

    * bone-fire (obsolete) *

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A fire in which bones were burned.
  • A fire to burn unwanted or disreputable items or people: proscribed books, heretics etc.
  • A large, controlled outdoor fire, as a signal or to celebrate something.

    • Derived terms

    * bonfire night

    See also

    * balefire * bale

    References

    Anagrams

    *