ignis fatuus
/ˈɪɡnɪs ˈfætjuːəs/
ignis fatuus noun: a will o' the wisp.
Noun
ignis fatuus (plural ignes fatui)
- A will o' the wisp.
- Fiery spirits or devils are such as commonly work by blazing stars, fire-drakes, or ignes fatui; which lead men often in flumina aut præcipitia, saith Bodine[…]1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC
- An Ignis Fatuus, that bewitches, / And leads Men into Pools and Ditches1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto I.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678...
- A delusion, a false hope.
- […] they think this is written on purpose to be published; and that this defence is so published, that it may serve as an Ignis fatuus to mislead them […]1660, William Petty, Reflections upon Ireland, page 55
- He cursed the journey he had been led to take after what had proved but an ignis fatuus, deluded as he had been by false expectations;[…]1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter V, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 49
ignis fatuus meaning in Bengali, Kannada and Assamese
ignis fatuus in Bengali
- জলাভূমিতে ভাসমান আলো, ভ্রান্ত আশা
ignis fatuus in Kannada
- ಕೊಳ್ಳಿಹೇದೆ
ignis fatuus in Assamese
- ignis fatuus
- উকা uka
Forms of ignis fatuus
| plural | ignes fatui |
|---|
Origin of ignis fatuus
From New Latin ignis fatuus (literally “foolish fire”).
Questions about ignis fatuus
- What does ignis fatuus mean?
- Ignis fatuus means a will o' the wisp.
- What is ignis fatuus in Bengali?
- Ignis fatuus in Bengali is জলাভূমিতে ভাসমান আলো, ভ্রান্ত আশা. See Ignis fatuus meaning in Bengali.
- What part of speech is ignis fatuus?
- Ignis fatuus is a noun.
- How do you pronounce ignis fatuus?
- Ignis fatuus is pronounced /ˈɪɡnɪs ˈfætjuːəs/.
- What is the plural of ignis fatuus?
- The plural of ignis fatuus is ignes fatui.
Words near ignis fatuus in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ignis fatuus (page history and authors); ignis fatuus (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ignis fatuus (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); উকা (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Eleanorrrrrrrrrr-ignis fatuus.wav.
Cite this entry: “ignis fatuus.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ignis_fatuus. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.