An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

An often temporary cessation of hostilities during wartime for a specific purpose. It may be unilateral or bilateral.

From cease from O.Fr. cesser "to come to an end, stop," from L. cessare "to cease, go slow, be idle," + → fire.

Âtašbas, from âtaš, → fire, + bas, from bas kardan "to stop, end; leave."

A state, process, or instance of combustion in which a substance combines with oxygen producing heat, light, and flame.

O..E. fyr, from P.Gmc. *fuir (cf. O.N. fürr, M.Du. vuur, Ger. Feuer), from PIE *paewr-; cf. Mod.Pers. Lori porpor "blazing charcoal," Gilaki bur, biur "smokeless red fire" (Lori perisk, periska "spark," Kurd. biriske "spark," Lârestâni pelita "spark"); Tokharian por, puwar "fire;" Gk. pyr "fire;" Hitt. pahhur "fire;" Skt. pū- "to cleanse."

Âtaš, variants âzar, taš, from Mid.Pers. âtaxš, âtur "fire;" Av. ātar-, āθr- "fire," singular nominative ātarš-; O.Pers. ātar- "fire;" Av. āθaurvan- "fire priest;" Skt. átharvan- "fire priest;" cf. L. ater "black" ("blackened by fire"); Arm. airem "burns;" Serb. vatra "fire;" PIE base *āter- "fire."

A → meteor that is brighter than the brightest planets, i.e. with an apparent magnitude of -5 or greater. Fireballs are often followed by → meteorite falls. Also called → bolide.

From → fire + ball, from O.E., from O.N. bollr "ball," from P.Gmc. *balluz (cf. O.H.G. ballo, Ger. Ball), from PIE base *bhel- "to swell."

Tašguy, from taš "fire," variant of âtaš→ fire + guy "ball, sphere," variants golulé, gullé, goruk, gulu, gudé (cf. Skt. guda- "ball, mouthful, lump, tumour," Pali gula- "ball," Gk. gloutos "rump," L. glomus "ball," globus "globe," Ger. Kugel, E. clot; PIE *gel- "to make into a ball").

A blue/violet light better seen at night on a pointed object, such as the mast of a ship or the wing of an airplane, during a → thunderstorm. The mast appears to be on fire but does not burn. It occurs when the ground below the storm is electrically charged, and there is high voltage in the air between the cloud and the ground. The high voltage causes the electrons and protons of the air molecules to be pulled away from each other, transforming the air into a glowing ionized gas. St. Elmo's fire is sometimes mistaken for → ball lightning. It was identified as an electrical phenomenon first by by Benjamin Franklin in 1749. Also called → corposant.

Saint Elmo the Italian rendering of St. Erasmus of Formiae (died 303) the patron saint of Mediterranean sailors; → fire.

Âtaš, → fire, sepant "saint, holy," → heiligenschein.