| 释义 |
St. Elmo|sənt ˈɛlməʊ|
Also † St. Elm, St. Helmo, San Telmo, sant-elmo.
[A corruption, via Sant'Ermo, of the name of St. Erasmus (martyred 303), Italian bishop and patron saint of Mediterranean sailors; cf. It. fuoco di Sant'Elmo.]
Used in the possessive, absol., and with of to denote the luminous appearance of a naturally occurring corona discharge about a ship's mast or the like, usually in bad weather. Now usu. as St. Elmo's fire; = corposant, Helena.
1561Sant-elmo [see corposant a]. 1621J. Chamberlain Let. 21 July (1939) II. 390 His comming was taken for a goode presage, like the appearing of St. Elmo after a tempest. 1774Fires of St. Helmo [see fire n. A. 10 b]. 1814tr. G. H. Von Langsdorff's Voy. & Trav. II. iv. 102 In the winter months the air is often so charged with electricity, that for many hours together in the darkest nights a bluish green electrical light, called St. Helen's, or St. Elm's fire, may be seen. 1845Encycl. Metrop. IV. 135/1 The fire of St. Elmo, so frequently seen upon the masts of vessels in the mediterranean, and from very early times connected with the names of Castor and Pollux, meets with a very simple explanation on the principle of a pointed conductor imbibing electricity. 1882Encycl. Brit. XIV. 633/2 This glow is known to sailors as St Elmo's (San Telmo's) fire, in old days Castor and Pollux. 1942Tee Emm (Air Ministry) II. 56 St. Elmo's Fire..is caused by the aircraft passing through a charged area of cloud and thus charging up itself... A glow, and in more extreme cases long streaks of fire appear at the propellers, wing-tips or nose. 1956G. Durrell My Family & other Animals xvii. 235, I tell you, we'll find the chimney covered with Saint Elmo's fire one night, and before we know where we are we'll be drowned in our beds by a tidal wave. 1969M. A. Uman Lightning 244 Ball lightning and St. Elmo's fire are sometimes confused. St. Elmo's fire is a corona discharge from a pointed conducting object in a strong electric field. Like ball lightning, St. Elmo's fire may assume a spherical shape. Unlike ball lightning, St. Elmo's fire must remain attached to a conductor, although it may exhibit some motion along the conductor. Further, St. Elmo's fire can have a lifetime much greater than the lifetime of the usual ball lightning. 1976Scotsman 20 Nov. (Weekend Suppl.) 1/1 The top of the mast was surrounded with an eerie pale green phosphorescence. This was St. Elmo's Fire—known and feared by seamen of old—caused by static electricity. |
