jack o'lantern

See also: jack-o'-lantern and Jack O'Lantern

English

Alternative forms

• jack-o'-lantern

Etymology

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.

Noun

Jack o’ lantern (plural jack o'lanterns)

1. (idiomatic, English folklore) will o' the wisp, a strange light that attracts travellers
2. (US, tradition) A vegetable, usually a pumpkin, but alternatively a turnip, carved into the form of a face and lighted within by a candle. Associated chiefly with the holiday Halloween.

Synonyms

• (strange light): ignis fatuus, will o' the wisp, hinkypunk (West Country), Joan the wad (West Country), hobby lantern, (Hertfordshire, East Anglia), peg-a-lantern (Lancashire), Will the Smith (Shropshire), Pinket (Worcestershire), Will o' the Wikes (Norfolk)