ignis fatuus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a pale, wandering light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground; a will-o'-the-wisp

   A blue ignis fatuus flickered above the marsh and vanished before dawn.

2. 2
   noun

   a deceptive hope, goal, or influence that leads someone astray

   The promise of effortless wealth proved to be an ignis fatuus.

Borrowed in the sixteenth century from Medieval Latin ignis fatuus, literally 'foolish fire,' from ignis ('fire') + fatuus ('foolish'). Folklore imagined the marsh light as a wandering flame that misled travelers, which produced the figurative sense of a deceptive hope or aim.

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