friar's lantern

American  

noun

1. ignis fatuus.

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friar's lantern British  

noun

1. another name for will-o'-the-wisp

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Etymology

Origin of friar's lantern

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

friar's lantern

Napoleon sometimes rode into this valley, and one day he turned to Betsy: "Mees Betsee, have you ever seen 'Will-o'-the-Wisp' that they say lights the friar's lantern?"

From Napoleon's Young Neighbor by Helen Leah Reed

In the same connection, Milton in "L'Allegro" also mentions the "friar's lantern."

From Stranger Than Fiction Being Tales from the Byways of Ghosts and Folk-lore by Mary L. Lewes

By friar's lantern = Jack o' Lantern or Will o' the Wisp.

From MacMillan's Reading Books Book V by Anonymous