waterburn

Noun

waterburn

1. (dated, possibly) Irritation of the skin caused by exposure to the sun's rays reflecting off of water (as well as reaching the skin directly from the sun).
   • Snowburn, especially in the mountains and on glaciers, is much more severe than waterburn as from lakes, and waterburn, again, is severer than ordinary sunburn. […]1913, Edinburgh Medical Journal, volume 11, page 168
   • It is interesting to note that the affected areas in face and ears were the same regions well known to suffer from the reflected light in snowburn and waterburn. He had suffered previously from rosacea and the front of his face was still seborrheic, but with no keratosis, only freckling from light...1913, New York Journal of Homœopathy, volume 41, page 32
2. (rare) Seafire, mareel.
   • "Keep her away another point or sae," said Jamie, "for the glare o' the kelpfires and the saut pans have scared the droves frae this part o' the shore.—and mairower, the waterburn has been here for a week and mair." This is a luminous appearance of the sea, which, like lightning, has the effect of...1855, James Grant, The Yellow Frigate: Or, The Three Sisters, page 392
   • Besides this "composant," the "water-burn" is very frequently met with; and by this is meant the peculiar luminous appearance of the sea, when the waves seem to be formed of liquid phosphorous, and to leave a coating of phosphorous upon all they touch. "Water-burn" is much disliked by the herring...1871, Francis Trevelyan Buckland, Curiosities of Natural History: Second Series, page 288