Alternative Form of will-o-the-wisp -
will-o-wisp, will-of-the-wisp
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
will-o-the-wisp
Plural:
will-o-the-wisps
Origin of will-o-the-wisp
FromWillnickname forWilliam
From
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
from Will (“male given name”) + ofthe + wisp (“bundle of straw or hay used as a torch”)
From
Wiktionary
Will-o-the-wisp Sentence Examples
Influence is a will o'the wisp but this may be Chris's greatest contribution.
Influence is a will o'the wisp but this may be Chris 's greatest contribution.
In the meantime, while various observers were building up our knowledge of the morphology of bacteria, others were laying the foundation of what is known of the relations of these organisms to fermentation and disease - that ancient will-o'-the-wisp " spontaneous generation " being revived by the way.
During the past century it was and even now is the very " will-o'-the-wisp " of evolution, always tending to lead the phylogenist astray.