- mirage
- "optical illusion of water in sandy deserts," 1812, from Fr. mirage, from se mirer "to be reflected," from L. mirare (see mirror).
- Fata Morgana
- 1818, lit. "Fairy Morgana," mirage especially common in the Strait of Messina, Italy, from Morgana, the "Morgan le Fay" of Anglo-Fr. poetry, sister of King Arthur, located in Calabria by Norman settlers. Morgan is Welsh, "sea-dweller." There is perhaps, too, here an infl. of Arabic marjan, lit. "pearl," also a fem. proper name, popularly the name of a sorceress.