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ignis fatuus

 - 4 dictionary results

ig⋅nis fat⋅u⋅us

  [ig-nis fach-oo-uhs]
–noun, plural ig⋅nes fat⋅u⋅i  [ig-neez fach-oo-ahy] .
1. Also called friar's lantern, will-o'-the-wisp. a flitting phosphorescent light seen at night, chiefly over marshy ground, and believed to be due to spontaneous combustion of gas from decomposed organic matter.
2. something deluding or misleading.
Use ignis fatuus in a Sentence
Origin:
1555–65; < ML: lit., foolish fire
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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ig·nis fat·u·us   (ĭg'nĭs fāch'ōō-əs)   
n.   pl. ig·nes fat·u·i (ĭg'nēz fāch'ōō-ī')

  1. A phosphorescent light that hovers or flits over swampy ground at night, possibly caused by spontaneous combustion of gases emitted by rotting organic matter. Also called friar's lantern, jack-o'-lantern, will-o'-the-wisp, wisp.

  2. Something that misleads or deludes; an illusion.


[Medieval Latin : Latin ignis, fire + Latin fatuus, foolish.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ignis fatuus 
"will o' the wisp, jack-a-lantern," 1563, from M.L., lit. "foolish fire." It seems once to have been more common than presently.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

ignis fatuus

in meteorology, a mysterious light seen at night flickering over marshes; when approached, it advances, always out of reach. The phenomenon is also known as will-o'-the-wisp and ignis fatuus (Latin: "foolish fire"). In popular legend it is considered ominous and is often purported to be the soul of one who has been rejected by hell carrying its own hell coal on its wanderings. The phenomenon is generally believed to be due to the spontaneous ignition of marsh gas, which consists mostly of methane and which is produced by the decomposition of dead plant matter

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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