elve

[ elv ]
See synonyms for: elveelves on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. an extremely dim, flattened, expanding, reddish glow briefly seen over a thunderstorm, due to electromagnetic pulses from intense lightning.

Origin of elve

1
First recorded in 1990–95; e(mission of) l(ight and) v(ery low-frequency perturbations from) e(lectromagnetic pulse sources)

Words Nearby elve

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use elve in a sentence

Scientific definitions for elve

elve

[ ĕlv ]


  1. An extremely dim, short-lived, expanding disk of reddish light above thunderstorms, believed to be caused by electromagnetic pulses from intense lightning in the lower ionosphere. Elves last less than a second and can be as wide as 500 km (310 mi) in diameter.

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