Jack-o'-lantern Definition
jăkə-lăntərn
jack-o-lanterns
noun
Webster's New World
A hollow pumpkin cut to look like a face and usually illuminated inside as by a candle, used as a decoration at Halloween.
Webster's New World
(archaic) A will o' the wisp.
Wiktionary
(idiomatic, English folklore) Will o' the wisp, a strange light that attracts travellers.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
- Omphalotus illudens
- jack-a-lantern
- jack-o-lantern fungus
- will-o'-the-wisp
- ignis fatuus
- friar's lantern
Other Word Forms of Jack-o'-lantern
Noun
Singular:
jack-o'-lanternPlural:
jack-o-lanternsOrigin of Jack-o'-lantern
-
Jack (“male given name”) + o' + lantern. Attested as a term for ignis fatuus in English folklore in the 1660s, mostly in East Anglia but also in southwestern England. The sense of carved pumpkin in American English is attested in 1834.
From Wiktionary
From earlier Jack-with-a-lantern man with a lantern, will-o'-the-wisp
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
Originally, a night watchman who carried a lantern. (See Jack)
From Wiktionary
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