A luminous electrical phenomenon seen at sea, appearing as a glow or flame on a ship's mast during thunderstorms; also called St. Elmo's fire.
From Spanish corpo santo (holy body) or Portuguese corpo santo, literally 'holy body.' Sailors believed the glowing light was a spiritual phenomenon, hence the religious name.
Sailors witnessing corposants were terrified and amazed—some thought it was a sign of divine protection, others a warning of coming disaster, when really it's just static electricity ionizing the air!
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