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  1. fata morgana love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. See mirage.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A mirage, especially one seen in the Strait of Messina

Etymologies

  1. From Italian translation of Morgan le Fay (fata ("fairy")) (Wiktionary)
  2. Italian, mirage, Morgan le Fay (from the belief that the mirage was caused by her witchcraft) : fata, fairy (from Vulgar Latin fāta, goddess of fate; see fairy) + Morgana, Morgan (probably from Old Irish Morrigain). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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  1. mirage

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  1. mirage

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  • johanna the original word refers to morgan la fee fata-the act or action; morgana- of a fairy or witch she was king arthur's sister. historically a 'pagan' or goddess worshipper.
    she has is NO responsibility for the italian optical illusion.
    a fata morgana can refer simply to a " magical act " or a "magical occurence" Aug 8, 2009

  • jfk reallifepixel's missing link Jun 10, 2009

  • reesetee Very nice. :-) Jun 10, 2009

  • rolig One of my favorite passages from Pasternak, from the poem that begins "Се�?тра мо�? — жизнь…" ("My sister – life…"):

    Мига�?, морга�?, но �?п�?т где–то �?ладко,
    И фата–морганой любима�? �?пит
    Тем ча�?ом, как �?ердце, плеща по площадкам,
    Вагонными дверцами �?ыплет в �?тепи.

    And here's a more or less serviceable translation:

    Winking, blinking, people sleep sweetly somewhere,
    and my love, like a fata-morgana, sleeps,
    while my heart, splashing across train platforms,
    scatters carriage doors over the steppe.
    Jun 10, 2009

  • reallifepixel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2005-08-22_fata_morgana.jpg"> Jun 10, 2009

  • bilby My guess was Arabic. Hmmm, only about 30% maybe! In Indonesian it is written as a single word, fatamorgana, with the same meaning, ie. mirage. May 14, 2008

  • seanahan A cool etymology. May 14, 2008

  • whichbe Noun.
    1. An optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water, often with inverted reflections of distant objects, and results from distortion of light by alternate layers of hot and cool air.
    2. Something illusory or insubstantial. May 13, 2008

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‘fata morgana’ has been looked up 1087 times, loved by 2 people, added to 23 lists, commented on 8 times, and is not a valid Scrabble word.