noun
or saint elmo's light -ˈel(ˌ)mōz- ; or saint ulmo's fire or saint ulmo's light -ˈəl(ˌ)mōz-
Usage: usually capitalized S&E&U
Etymology: after St. Elmo or Ulmo ( Erasmus ) died 303 Italian bishop and martyr, patron saint of sailors
: a flaming pheonomenon sometimes seen in stormy weather at prominent points on an airplane (as at the wing tips) or ship (as at the masthead or yardarms) and on land (as at the tops of trees or steeples) that is of the nature of a brush discharge of electricity which is reddish when positive and bluish when negative — called also corposant