#137 - Will-o'-the-wisp
Mar. 2nd, 2025 12:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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vocab_drabblesThis week's (fun) word is
(wil-ə-t͟hə-ˈwisp)
With credit to Merriam-Webster, Wikipedia, and Collins, although there are tons of interesting articles online to check out.
NOUN
1. A deceptive or elusive goal or hope.
You can refer to someone or something that keeps disappearing or that is impossible to catch or reach as a will-o'-the-wisp.
2. Ignis fatuus.
A light that sometimes appears at night over marshy ground and is often attributable to the combustion of gas from decomposed organic matter. In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp, or ignis fatuus (Latin for 'foolish flame';[1] pl. ignes fatui), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes.
Did you know?
The Mystical Origins of Will-o'-the-Wisp
The will-o'-the-wisp is a flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas. In olden days, it was personified as "Will with the wisp," a sprite who carried a fleeting "wisp" of light. Foolish travelers were said to try to follow the light and were then led astray into the marsh. (An 18th-century fairy tale described Will as one "who bears the wispy fire to trail the swains among the mire.") The light was first known, and still also is, as ignis fatuus, which in Latin means "foolish fire." Eventually, the name will-o’-the-wisp was extended to any impractical or unattainable goal.
Will-o'-the-wisp
(wil-ə-t͟hə-ˈwisp)
With credit to Merriam-Webster, Wikipedia, and Collins, although there are tons of interesting articles online to check out.
NOUN
1. A deceptive or elusive goal or hope.
You can refer to someone or something that keeps disappearing or that is impossible to catch or reach as a will-o'-the-wisp.
2. Ignis fatuus.
A light that sometimes appears at night over marshy ground and is often attributable to the combustion of gas from decomposed organic matter. In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp, or ignis fatuus (Latin for 'foolish flame';[1] pl. ignes fatui), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes.
Did you know?
The Mystical Origins of Will-o'-the-Wisp
The will-o'-the-wisp is a flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas. In olden days, it was personified as "Will with the wisp," a sprite who carried a fleeting "wisp" of light. Foolish travelers were said to try to follow the light and were then led astray into the marsh. (An 18th-century fairy tale described Will as one "who bears the wispy fire to trail the swains among the mire.") The light was first known, and still also is, as ignis fatuus, which in Latin means "foolish fire." Eventually, the name will-o’-the-wisp was extended to any impractical or unattainable goal.
