waterburn en · NOUN
Etymology
water + burn.
Meanings
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(dated, possibly) Irritation of the skin caused by exposure to the sun's rays reflecting off of water (as well as reaching the skin directly from the sun).
7 wild-life preserves, 33 national forests, 9 Indian reservations, 10 reclamation, power, and flood-control projects, 8 state parks, and several mines, museums, biological stations, memorials, bridges and dams. Other experiences included desert heat, mountain snow-storms, rain and hail, mosquito bites, sunburn, snowbum, waterbum, sea-sickness, and bus and boat breakdowns. All in all, it was an extremely interesting, but busy (too busy!) trip, overwhelmingly full of magnificent sights and rich experiences with many aspects of nature […]
1956, Iowa Academy of Science, The Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, page 232It is interesting to note that the affected areas in face and ears were the same regions well known to suffer from the reflected light in snowburn and waterburn. He had suffered previously from rosacea and the front of his face was still seborrheic, but with no keratosis, only freckling from light, which would seem to show that his skin was not predisposed to keratosis and that the long-continued exposure is its cause. […]
1913, New York Journal of Homœopathy, volume 41, page 32:Snowburn, especially in the mountains and on glaciers, is much more severe than waterburn as from lakes, and waterburn, again, is severer than ordinary sunburn. […]
1913, Edinburgh Medical Journal, volume 11, page 168:
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(rare) Seafire, mareel.
[They saw] waterburn or brimming, fishermen's names for the phosphorescent light which sometimes appeared on the water, and every movement of a fish was revealed by tiny flashes of light, but little luck could be expected on such a night, with […]
1954, World Fishing, volume 3, page 337:Besides this "composant," the "water-burn" is very frequently met with; and by this is meant the peculiar luminous appearance of the sea, when the waves seem to be formed of liquid phosphorous, and to leave a coating of phosphorous upon all they touch. "Water-burn" is much disliked by the herring yawlers, as the cunning fish can then see the net, and will not go into it.
1871, Francis Trevelyan Buckland, Curiosities of Natural History: Second Series, page 288:trawl vessels […] plough the ground up, and do not leave anything living […] and the waterburn (phosphorescent life) lighted up by the trawler scares the fish.
1878 December 12, report of proceedings at Borough Hall, Hartlepool, published in 1879, Reports from Commissioners [of Great Britain's House of Commons], volume 17, page 129"Keep her away another point or sae," said Jamie, "for the glare o' the kelpfires and the saut pans have scared the droves frae this part o' the shore.—and mairower, the waterburn has been here for a week and mair." This is a luminous appearance of the sea, which, like lightning, has the effect of scaring the herrings from the coast. […]
1855, James Grant, The Yellow Frigate: Or, The Three Sisters, page 392: