- jack-o'-lantern
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/jak"euh lan'teuhrn/, n.1. a hollowed pumpkin with openings cut to represent human eyes, nose, and mouth and in which a candle or other light may be placed, traditionally made for display at Halloween.2. a commercially made lantern resembling this.3. any phenomenon of light, as a corona discharge or an ignis fatuus.4. a poisonous luminescent orange fungus, Omphalotus olearius, often found in clusters at the base of hardwood tree stumps.[1655-65]
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in American holiday custom, a hollowed-out- pumpkin lantern that is displayed on Halloween. The surface of the pumpkin is carved to resemble a face. Light from a candle inserted inside can be seen flickering through the jack-o'-lantern's cutout eyes, nose, and usually grotesquely grinning mouth. The custom originated in the British Isles, with a large turnip or other vegetable rather than a pumpkin.in meteorology, a mysterious light seen at night flickering over marshes; when approached, it advances, always out of reach. The phenomenon is also known as will-o'-the-wisp and ignis fatuus (Latin: “foolish fire”). In popular legend it is considered ominous and is often purported to be the soul of one who has been rejected by hell carrying its own hell coal on its wanderings. The phenomenon is generally believed to be due to the spontaneous ignition of marsh gas, which consists mostly of methane and which is produced by the decomposition of dead plant matter.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
