needfire

[ need-fahyuh r ]

/ ˈnidˌfaɪər /

luminescence, as of rotted or decayed wood.

Words nearby needfire

First recorded in 1525–35; need + fire

The term “needfire” seems to be a corruption of “neatfire,” neat cattle being an old and common term.
Bygone Cumberland and Westmorland|Daniel Scott
Once a year the needfire was so lighted, and all the hearths of the village were rekindled from the blaze thus obtained.
Early Britain|Grant Allen
I never heard of the use of the needfire in the Marsh, though it was, I believe, used on the wolds not many miles off.
Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I.|Sir James George Frazer
As thou knowest, it seemed to me that I was watching two sparkles from the extinguished Needfire wheel.
The Dove in the Eagle's Nest|Charlotte M. Yonge

The last time the “needfire” was used in the Keswick neighbourhood, Mr. William Wilson says, was in 1841.
Bygone Cumberland and Westmorland|Daniel Scott