Corposant (noun) (archaic)
cor-pez-ant
An instance of St Elmo’s Fire appearing on the mast or rigging of a ship.
What a great archaic word, left over from the days of sailing the world and superstition. St. Elmo’s Fire was considered to be a lucky sign for sailors, but was actually just a glow from the build up of electric discharge on a ship’s mast during storms.
Example sentences
“Corposant is no more than electrical discharge but it gave sailors great hope in stormy conditions.”
Word of the Day – Brabble
May 26, 2026
Word of the Day – Brabble
Word of the Day - Brabble (verb) brab-l
Word of the Day – Aliment
May 25, 2026
Word of the Day – Aliment
Word of the Day - Aliment (noun)(verb) al-i-ment
Word of the Day – Latibulate
May 24, 2026
Word of the Day – Latibulate
Word of the Day - Latibulate (verb) (archaic) lat-ib-yu-layt
Word of the Day – Erinaceous
May 23, 2026
Word of the Day – Erinaceous
Word of the Day - Erinaceous (adj) erin-ay-shus
Word of the Day – Knjižara
May 22, 2026
Word of the Day – Knjižara
Word of the Day - Knjižara (књижара) (Serbian) (noun) knee-za-ra
Word of the Day – Tariqa
May 21, 2026
Word of the Day – Tariqa
Word of the Day - Tariqa (noun) (arabic) ta-ree-ka
Interesting word, especially considering my occupation as sailor. But i do wonder does it only apply to masts and rigging from sailing ships or also to masts and rigging of other types of ships? Since most of them have a mast mostly placed somewhere on the front of a ship, but also on the superstructure (were the bridge and the crew cabins are) to place the navigation lights.