Fata Morgana
[Italian fah-tah mawr-gah-nah]
- Meteorology. a mirage consisting of multiple images, as of cliffs and buildings, that are distorted and magnified to resemble elaborate castles, often seen near the Straits of Messina.
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Origin of Fata Morgana
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
rainbow, monster, fabrication, delusion, hallucination, fancy, illusion, figment, mirage, monstrosity, snare, bubble, specter, bogy, apparition, phantasm, vision, phantasmagoriaFata Morgana
- a mirage, esp one in the Strait of Messina attributed to the sorcery of Morgan le Fay
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Word Origin
C19: from Italian: Morgan le Fay
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for fata morgana
Fata Morgana
n.
1818, literally "Fairy Morgana," mirage especially common in the Strait of Messina, Italy, from Morgana, the "Morgan le Fay" of Anglo-French poetry, sister of King Arthur, located in Calabria by Norman settlers. Morgan is Welsh, "sea-dweller." There is perhaps, too, here an influence of Arabic marjan, literally "pearl," also a fem. proper name, popularly the name of a sorceress.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper