Meanings
plural St. Elmo's fires · alternative St Elmo's fire · alternative Saint Elmo's fire · alternative St. Ulmo's fire
- uncountableusuallyAn electrical discharge, or corona, seen around pointed objects, caused by ionization of the atmosphere during storms.
I can see a new horizon, underneath a blazing sky. I’ll be where the eagle’s flying, higher and higher! Gonna be a man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels. Take me where the future lies, in St. Elmo’s fire!
1985 June 23, “St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)”, David Foster, John Parr (lyrics), performed by John ParrSynonyms: corposant, corpusant, composant, Elmo's fire, St. Elmo's light, witchfire, witch's fire
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn electrical discharge, or corona, seen around pointed objects, caused by ionization of the atmosphere during storms.
More synonyms by meaning
nounan electrical discharge accompanied by ionization of surrounding atmosphere
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
After Erasmus of Formia, the patron saint of sailors, also known as St. Elmo.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Sint-Elmusvuur
- Sint-Elmusvuurelectrical discharge
Ancient Greek ἑλένη
- ἑλένη (helénē)electrical discharge
Arabic شَرَر القِدِّيس إِلْمُو
- شَرَر القِدِّيس إِلْمُو (šarar al-qiddīs ʔilmū)electrical discharge
Bulgarian Огън на свети Елм
- Огън на свети Елм (Ogăn na sveti Elm)electrical discharge
Catalan foc de Sant Elm
- foc de Sant Elmelectrical discharge
Chinese Mandarin 聖艾爾摩之火 /圣艾尔摩之火
- 聖艾爾摩之火 /圣艾尔摩之火 (Shèng Ài'ěrmó zhī huǒ)electrical discharge
Czech oheň svatého Eliáše
- oheň svatého Eliášeelectrical discharge
Danish sanktelmsild
- sanktelmsildelectrical discharge
Dutch Sint-Elmusvuur
- Sint-Elmusvuurelectrical discharge
Finnish Elmon tuli, ukonvirva
- Elmon tulielectrical discharge
- ukonvirvaelectrical discharge
French feu de Saint-Elme
- feu de Saint-Elmeelectrical discharge
German Elmsfeuer
- Elmsfeuerelectrical discharge
Greek Άγιοι Νικόληδες
- Άγιοι Νικόληδες (Ágioi Nikólides)electrical discharge
Hebrew אש אלמו הקדוש
- אש אלמו הקדושelectrical discharge
Hungarian Szent Elmo tüze
- Szent Elmo tüzeelectrical discharge
Indonesian api Santa Elmo
- api Santa Elmoelectrical discharge
Irish gealán San Elmo
- gealán San Elmoelectrical discharge
Italian fuoco di Sant'Elmo
- fuoco di Sant'Elmoelectrical discharge
Japanese セントエルモの火
- セントエルモの火 (sentoerumo no hi)electrical discharge
Korean 세인트 엘모의 불
- 세인트 엘모의 불 (seinteu elmoui bul)electrical discharge
Latin corpus sanctum
- corpus sanctumelectrical discharge
Norwegian Sankt Elms ild
- Sankt Elms ildelectrical discharge
Polish ognie świętego Elma
- ognie świętego Elmaelectrical discharge
Portuguese fogo de Santelmo, santelmo
- fogo de Santelmoelectrical discharge
- santelmoelectrical discharge
Romanian focul Sfântului Elmo
- focul Sfântului Elmoelectrical discharge
Russian Огни святого Эльма
- Огни святого Эльма (Ogni svjatovo Elʹma)electrical discharge
Spanish fuego de San Telmo
- fuego de San Telmoelectrical discharge
Swedish Sankt Elmseld, elmseld
- Sankt Elmseldelectrical discharge
- elmseldelectrical discharge
Tagalog igneyo, igneo
- igneyoelectrical discharge
- igneoelectrical discharge
- santelmoelectrical discharge
Ukrainian Вогні святого Ельма
- Вогні святого Ельма (Vohni svjatoho Elʹma)electrical discharge
Cite this entry
St. Elmo's fire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/St.%20Elmo's%20fire
“St. Elmo's fire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/St.%20Elmo's%20fire. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “St. Elmo's fire,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/St.%20Elmo's%20fire.
Source: St. Elmo's fire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.