needfire

[ need-fahyuhr ]

/ ˈnidˌfaɪər /

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luminescence, as of rotted or decayed wood.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

First recorded in 1525–35; need + fire

Needfire was then obtained by friction, and all the fires were rekindled from what was regarded as the sacred flame.
The Mysteries of All Nations|James Grant
The last time the “needfire” was used in the Keswick neighbourhood, Mr. William Wilson says, was in 1841.
Bygone Cumberland and Westmorland|Daniel Scott
The term “needfire” seems to be a corruption of “neatfire,” neat cattle being an old and common term.
Bygone Cumberland and Westmorland|Daniel Scott
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