🎃 A carved pumpkin 🍄 A poisonous mushroom 👻 A ghostly light

jack-o'-lantern

9.9

A poisonous mushroom with bright orange caps that grows in woods and fields

noun
/ˈdʒæk oʊ ˈlæn tərn/

: seta jack-o'-lantern

Foragers should avoid the jack-o'-lantern mushroom, as it is highly poisonous.

Examples

The bright orange caps of the jack-o'-lantern make it easy to spot among the leaf litter.
Deep in the woods, we found a jack-o'-lantern glowing faintly at night.
We found a jack-o'-lantern in the woods.
Look at that jack-o'-lantern over there!
Foragers should avoid the jack-o'-lantern mushroom, as it is highly poisonous.
The bright orange caps of the jack-o'-lantern make it easy to spot among the leaf litter.
Deep in the woods, we found a jack-o'-lantern glowing faintly at night.

Synonyms

Omphalotus illudens

vsjack-o'-lantern

Specialized

9.9

A large poisonous mushroom with bright orange caps and glowing gills called the Jack-o'-lantern mushroom

is the common English name rather than the scientific form

jack-o-lantern

vsjack-o'-lantern

Specialized

9.9

A large poisonous mushroom with an orange cap that glows at night

is the common name without the parenthetical scientific note

jack-o-lantern fungus

vsjack-o'-lantern

9.9

A large poisonous mushroom with orange caps that grows in tight groups and gills that glow in the dark

highlights habitat and orange cap appearance rather than glow

Surface Forms

jack-o'-lantern singular

jack-o'-lanterns plural

Morphology

jack-o'-lantern = jack + lantern (opaque) = jack + o' + lantern

The compound form suggests a lantern-like light, but the referent being a specific poisonous mushroom is not derivable from the components for an average learner.

Etymology

Jack-o'-lantern comes from an old phrase made of Jack, o' and lantern, meaning 'Jack with a lantern'. Because this poisonous mushroom can look like a small glowing lamp in the dark, people began to call it a jack-o'-lantern.