ignis fatuus
- noun
- /ˈɪɡnɪs ˈfætʃuəs/
- Archaic
:
ignis fatuus
- At night, the traveler followed the ignis fatuus thinking it was a safe path, only to find himself lost in the marsh.
Examples
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Many who sought fortune in the misty marsh were led astray by an ignis fatuus, believing they had found a treasure.
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The tale of the ignis fatuus warns us about chasing illusions that can lead to danger and disappointment.
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The horses, decoyed by an ignis fatuus, are on a downward path half sunk in the swamp of India, and the criminally unshaven Fox and Jesuitical Burke make a pair much worse than the sum of its parts.
Academic text (1991)
Synonyms
22
7.7
An idea or hope that seems real but is not possible
1
9.9
A ghost-like figure that seems real but is not
A thing that seems close but cannot be reached
A pale, flickering light that appears at night over marshy ground
A faint mysterious light that appears over wet ground at night
A pale light seen at night over wet ground in old stories
Surface Forms
Morphology
ignis + fatuus
The phrase is a Latin borrowing: its constituents mean roughly 'fire' (ignis) and 'foolish' (fatuus), which gives a partial clue that it refers to a misleading or uncanny light. However, the specific sense 'will‑o'‑the‑wisp' or 'an illusion/false hope' is not directly predictable from 'foolish fire' without cultural or lexical knowledge, so a B1 learner would get a hint but not the full meaning.
Etymology
The noun ignis fatuus, from Latin words ignis 'fire' and fatuus 'foolish', comes from old stories about a small, strange light seen over marshes at night. People said the light moved and led travelers off the path, so ignis fatuus came to mean 'something that misleads' or a 'false hope'.