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Ignis Fatuus
Ignis FatuusA wavering luminous appearance frequently observed in meadows and marshy places, around which many popular superstitions cluster. Its folknames, Will o' the Wisp and Jack o' Lantern, suggest a country fellow bearing a lantern or straw torch (wisp). Formerly these lights were supposed to haunt desolate bogs and moorlands for the purpose of misleading travelers and drawing them to their death. Another superstition says that they are the spirits of those who have been drowned in the bogs, and yet another says that they are the souls of unbaptized infants. Science now attributes these ignes fatui to gaseous exhalations from the moist ground or, more rarely, to night-flying insects. |
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"Ignis Fatuus." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Ignis Fatuus." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403802304.html "Ignis Fatuus." Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2001. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403802304.html |
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ignis fatuus
ignis fatuus a will-o'-the-wisp. Recorded in English from the mid 16th century, the phrase is modern Latin, literally ‘foolish fire’ (because of its erratic movement).
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "ignis fatuus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "ignis fatuus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-ignisfatuus.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "ignis fatuus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-ignisfatuus.html |
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ignis fatuus
ignis fatuus will-o'-the-wisp. XVI. modL, ‘foolish fire’, so named from its erratic flitting from place to place.
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T. F. HOAD. "ignis fatuus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "ignis fatuus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ignisfatuus.html T. F. HOAD. "ignis fatuus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ignisfatuus.html |
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ignis fatuus
ignis fatuus : see will-o'-the-wisp . |
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"ignis fatuus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ignis fatuus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-ignisfat.html "ignis fatuus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-ignisfat.html |
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