means A portable or hanging case with transparent sides that shields a light source so it can be carried or set out to cast a steady glow.

from From Latin lanterna, itself borrowed from Greek lamptēr, 'a torch or light,' rooted in lampein, 'to shine' — the same gleam that gives us 'lamp.' English took it through Old French lanterne. The old spelling 'lanthorn' is a bit of folk etymology: thin sheets of translucent horn really were used for the panes, so people reshaped the word to fit what they saw, though the true root never had any horn in it.