Dictionary

jack-o'-lantern en · NOUN

Pronunciation

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• (Australia) audio
• /ˈdʒæk.oʊˌlæn.təɹn/ (General-American)
• /ˈdʒæk.əˌlæn.təɹn/ (General-American)
• /ˈdʒæk.əʊˌlæn.tən/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Originally, a night watchman who carried a lantern (originally made from a turnip; see neep lantern). See Jack. First attested as a term for ignis fatuus in English folklore in the 1660s, mostly in East Anglia but also in southwestern England. The sense of a carved pumpkin (sense 1) is first attested in 1834.

Meanings

1. A carved pumpkin whose top and stem have been cut out and interior removed, leaving a hollow shell that is then decorated to represent a face, illuminated from within by a candle. It is a symbol of Halloween.
   • He had a jocose jack-o'-lantern grin, big crooked nicotine-stained teeth, and a full droopy dark moustache and wiry whiskers hiding a weak chin. (attributive use) 2001, Joyce Carol Oates, Middle Age: A Romance, paperback edition, page 218:
2. A carved pumpkin whose top and stem have been cut out and interior removed, leaving a hollow shell that is then decorated to represent a face, illuminated from within by a candle. It is a symbol of Halloween. ▸ A similar item made from a turnip.
3. (archaic) A will o' the wisp.
   • [Newspaper speculations] supplying so many more jack-o'-lanterns to the future historian 1871, James Russell Lowell, “My Study Windows”, in My Garden Acquaintance:

Forms

Descendants

ジャックオランタン · 잭오랜턴

Synonyms

Will o' the Wikes · hobby lantern · Will the Smith · Joan the wad · hinkypunk · peg-a-lantern · ignis fatuus · Pinket · Jack-with-a-lantern

Translations (44)

nn Jack-o'-lantern (carved pumpkin) · hu töklámpás (carved pumpkin) · it zucca di Halloween (carved pumpkin) · de Jack O’Lantern (carved pumpkin) · ar قرعة مضيئة (carved pumpkin) · ms tanglung labu (carved pumpkin) · fr lanterne-citrouille (carved pumpkin) · th แจ็กโอแลนเทิร์น (carved pumpkin) · fr Jack-o’-lantern (carved pumpkin) · ru фонарь из тыквы (carved pumpkin) · cy jac lantar (carved pumpkin) · da græskarhoved (carved pumpkin) · ru Светильник Джек (carved pumpkin) · uk Ліхтар Джека (carved pumpkin) · ja ジャックオランタン (carved pumpkin) · fr citrouille d'Halloween (carved pumpkin) · he ג׳ק־או־לנטרן (carved pumpkin) · hy Դդմից լապտեր (carved pumpkin) · uk світи́льник Дже́ка (carved pumpkin) · cmn 南瓜燈 /南瓜灯 (carved pumpkin) · pl latarnia z dyni (carved pumpkin) · el τζακ ο’ λάντερν (carved pumpkin) · nl jack-o'-lantern (carved pumpkin) · es calabaza (carved pumpkin) · bg ти́квен фене́р (carved pumpkin) · ka მნათობი ჯეკი (carved pumpkin) · nrf balle-à-leunettes (carved pumpkin) · cmn 傑克南瓜燈 /杰克南瓜灯 (carved pumpkin) · ko 호박등 (carved pumpkin) · ko 잭오랜턴 (carved pumpkin) · it lanterna di zucca (carved pumpkin) · fr citrouille-lanterne (carved pumpkin) · sh Џек-о'-Лантерн (carved pumpkin) · it Jack-o'-lantern (carved pumpkin) · de Jack mit der Laterne (carved pumpkin) · fi kurpitsalyhty (carved pumpkin) · pt coca (carved pumpkin) · ga Seán na gealaí (carved pumpkin) · az cek fənəri (carved pumpkin) · it Jack della lanterna (carved pumpkin) · et kõrvitslatern (carved pumpkin) · es calabaza de Halloween (carved pumpkin) · be свяцільня Джэка (carved pumpkin) · de Halloween-Kürbis (carved pumpkin)