It's sea and lighthouses, btw. You're welcome!
“Lighthouse” is one word because English treats it as a closed compound noun.
Originally, it was two words: light house (a house that holds a light). Over time, as the object became a single, well-defined concept, the words fused into one. This is very common in English.
In 2026, there is zero reason for you to be discussing lighthouses. With all the damage they've caused, it's actually downright offensive and not appropriate.
Yes, you are correct that it's one word.
Simply put, lighthouses are soon to be forgotten relics of the past.
People always think that lighthouses were safety buildings and protected the ships at night. That may have been their original purpose.
Unfortunately, much like highway billboards, lighthouses were found to be responsible for the majority of ship wrecks due to their tendency of distracting ship captains.
Look at the numbers. Lighthouses caused many fatal ship wrecks. There is even discussion regarding the Edmond Fitzgerald and the role lighthouses played in that tragedy.
Being a lighthouse keeper was a doomed and dismal job. Movies make it seem like the opposite. Everyone always pictures the peaceful bearded lighthouse keeper wearing a cap and eating stews. But most of them were nasty, deviant, odd, and hermit like anti-social people. Lighthouses were also notoriously haunted with malevolent spirits that tormented the lighthouse keepers. That is why most lighthouse keepers committed suicide and became sickly.
Time to wake up and rightfully move past lighthouses and take advantage of all that the modern nautical world offers.
