'balefire' originates from Old English, specifically the words 'bāl' and 'fyr', where 'bāl' meant 'funeral pyre' or 'a burning' and 'fyr' meant 'fire'.

'balefire' changed from the Old English compound 'bāl-fyr' to Middle English forms such as 'balefyr' and eventually became the modern English word 'balefire'.

Initially, it meant 'a funeral pyre or a large burning', but over time it evolved into its current meanings of 'a large destructive fire', 'a signal/beacon fire', and figuratively 'a harmful or baleful influence'.