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Definition 2024


jack_o'lantern

jack o'lantern

English

Alternative forms

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)