ignis fatuus
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.
something deluding or misleading.
Origin of ignis fatuus
1Words Nearby ignis fatuus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ignis fatuus in a sentence
This was doubtless a true ignis fatuus, and the circumstances necessary to produce it were then present, viz.
The Book of Curiosities | I. PlattsThus far the Hofrath; who vanishes, as is his wont, too like an ignis fatuus, leaving the dark still darker.
Sartor Resartus | Thomas CarlyleStill the ignis fatuus of a shorter route to India tantalized the early navigators.
The Greater Republic | Charles MorrisHe had not been imposed upon by his fancy; he had not been deceived by some ignis fatuus.
Bible Emblems | Edward E. SeelyeIt is, in truth, a shadow as intangible as our own; an ignis fatuus of our being.
British Dictionary definitions for ignis fatuus
/ (ˈɪɡnɪs ˈfætjʊəs) /
Origin of ignis fatuus
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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