fata morgana \fah-tuh-mor-GAH-nuh\ (noun)

fata morgana \fah-tuh-mor-GAH-nuh\ (noun)

: mirage

Example sentence:

"Then, suddenly -- like a fata morgana rising out of the

desert clouds -- houses, trees, and people materialized."

(Joseph Wechsberg, _The New Yorker_, November 1952)

Did you know?

"Fata Morgana" is the Italian name for Morgan le Fay

(meaning "Morgan the Fairy"), the fairy sorceress of medieval

legends. This half-sister of the legendary King Arthur is

sometimes portrayed as living in a palace under water and is

said to have had a number of magical powers, with which she

caused a great deal of trouble. Among her powers, say some

versions of the legends, was the ability to create mirages.

She has been blamed for causing complex mirages over bodies of

water, especially in the Strait of Messina. Today we know that

such optical illusions are really caused by atmospheric

conditions, but we still sometimes use "fata morgana" as a

synonym of "mirage."