Foxfire
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈfɒksfaɪə/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Foxfire is a noun meaning (mycology, chiefly US) Bioluminescence created by some types of fungus, particularly those growing on rotting wood.
Meaning
(mycology, chiefly US) Bioluminescence created by some types of fungus, particularly those growing on rotting wood.
More Meanings
- (by extension, loosely) Wood exhibiting fungal bioluminescence; torchwood.
Example Sentences
The rain stopped falling. They passed, leaving a trail of foxfire shuffled up out of the wet leaves like stars plowed in a ship's wake.
Perhaps you've seen a foxfire in the woods. Well, in the dark, it looks like a live, burning coal; but when you go to it, and take it up, it's only a piece of rotten wood.
People calls this "spunk," but it's foxfire. You see this hole in it? You see where I sawed it in two with the chain saw? See, this grows in hollow trees in a maple or a oak. No, it ain't mushroom; it's just really foxfire.
On the inside is fixed a Barometer, by which he can tell the depth he is under water; a Compass, by which he knows the course he steers. In the barometer and on the needles of the compass is fixed fox-fire, i.e. wood that gives light in the dark.
Word Forms
- fox fire
- fox-fire
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include fox-fire, torchwood, firelight, firelighting, foxy, foxhood.
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Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
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