will-o'-the-wisp (n.)

1660s, earlier Will with the wisp (c. 1600), from the masc. proper name Will + wisp "bundle of hay or straw used as a torch." Compare Jack-o'-lantern.

Entries linking to will-o'-the-wisp

wisp (n.)

early 14c., "handful or bundle of hay, grass, etc.," used for burning or cleaning or as a cushion; perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word, cognate with Norwegian and Swedish visp "wisp," of unknown origin; sometimes said to be connected with whisk or with Middle Low German and Middle Dutch wispel "a measure of grain." Meaning "thin, filmy portion" first attested 1836.

Jack-o'-lantern (n.)

also jack-o-lantern, jack-a-lantern, jackolantern, 1660s, "night-watchman;" 1670s as a local name for a will-o-the-wisp (Latin ignis fatuus), mainly attested in East Anglia but also in southwestern England. Literally "Jack of (with) the lantern;" see Jack + lantern. The extension to carved pumpkin lanterns is attested by 1834 in American English.

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updated on November 01, 2017

Dictionary entries near will-o'-the-wisp

willful

willfully

William

willies

willing

will-o'-the-wisp

willow

willowy

willpower

willy-nilly

Wilsonian