%igni%

v. t. [ L. adsignificare to show. ] To denote additionally. [ R. ] Tooke. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. 1 bringing into alignment
Syn. -- positioning [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ OE. benignite, F. bénignité, OF. bénigneté, fr. L. benignitas. See Benign. ] 1. The quality of being benign; goodness; kindness; graciousness. “Benignity of aspect.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Mildness; gentleness. [ 1913 Webster ]

The benignity or inclemency of the season. Spectator. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Salubrity; wholesome quality. Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The campaign of a candidate to be elected.
Syn. -- candidacy, candidature, electioneering, political campaign. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Cf. F. condignité. ] (Scholastic Theol.) Merit, acquired by works, which can claim reward on the score of general benevolence. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such a worthiness of condignity, and proper merit of the heavenly glory, cannot be found in any the best, most perfect, and excellent of created beings. Bp. Bull. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having joint or equal signification; synonymous. [ R. ] Spelman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Joint signification. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Consignificant; jointly significate. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. con- + sognify. ] To signify or denote in combination with something else. [ 1913 Webster ]

The cipher . . . only serves to connote and consignify, and to change the value or the figures. Horne Tooke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the same signification. Cockerham. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. co- + sign. Cf. Signatory. ] Signing some important public document with another or with others; as, a treaty violated by one of the cosignitary powers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Cosignitaries One who signs a treaty or public document along with others or another; as, the cosignitaries of the treaty of Berlin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Intriguing; artful; scheming; as, a designing man. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of making designs or sketches; the act of forming designs or plans. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Dignify. ] The act of dignifying; exaltation. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Marked with dignity; stately; as, a dignified judge. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dignified p. pr. & vb. n. Dignifying. ] [ OF. dignifier, fr. LL. dignificare; L. dignus worthy + ficare (in comp.), facere to make. See Deign, and Fact. ] To invest with dignity or honor; to make illustrious; to give distinction to; to exalt in rank; to honor. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your worth will dignify our feast. B. Jonson.

Syn. -- To exalt; elevate; prefer; advance; honor; illustrate; adorn; ennoble. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. serving to make dignified.
Syn. -- ennobling. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n.; pl. dignitaries [ Cf. F. dignitaire, fr. L. dignitas. ] One who possesses exalted rank or holds a position of dignity or honor; especially, one who holds an ecclesiastical rank above that of a parochial priest or clergyman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Dignities [ OE. dignete, dignite, OF. digneté, dignité, F. dignité, fr. L. dignitas, from dignus worthy. See Dainty, Deign. ] 1. The state of being worthy or honorable; elevation of mind or character; true worth; excellence. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Elevation; grandeur. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dignity of this act was worth the audience of kings. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Elevated rank; honorable station; high office, political or ecclesiastical; degree of excellence; preferment; exaltation. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Esth. vi. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, . . . the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. Gen. xlix. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Quality suited to inspire respect or reverence; loftiness and grace; impressiveness; stateliness; -- said of mien, manner, style, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

A letter written with singular energy and dignity of thought and language. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. One holding high rank; a dignitary. [ 1913 Webster ]

These filthy dreamers . . . speak evil of dignities. Jude. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Fundamental principle; axiom; maxim. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Sciences concluding from dignities, and principles known by themselves. Sir T. Browne.

Syn. -- See Decorum. [ 1913 Webster ]

To stand upon one's dignity, to have or to affect a high notion of one's own rank, privilege, or character. [ 1913 Webster ]

They did not stand upon their dignity, nor give their minds to being or to seeming as elegant and as fine as anybody else. R. G. White. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That feigns; insincere; not genuine; false.

-- Feign"ing*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. Anything peculiar to a foreign language or people; a foreign idiom or custom. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is a pity to see the technicalities of the so-called liberal professions distigured by foreignisms. Fitzed. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To signify beforehand; to foreshow; to typify. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ignis fire + colere to worship. ] A worshiper of fire. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ignifer; ignis fire + ferre to bear. ] Producing fire. [ R. ] Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ignifluus; ignis fire + fluere to flow. ] Flowing with fire. [ Obs. ] Cockerman. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ignified p. pr. & vb. n. Ignifying ] [ L. ignis fire + -fy. ] To form into fire. [ R. ] Stukeley. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ignigenus; ignis fire + genere, ginere, to beget, produce. ] Produced by the action of fire, as lava. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Power over fire. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ignipotens; ignis fire + potens powerful. ] Presiding over fire; also, fiery. [ 1913 Webster ]

Vulcan is called the powerful ignipotent. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ pl. Ignes fatui [ L. ignis fire + fatuus foolish. So called in allusion to its tendency to mislead travelers. ] 1. A phosphorescent light that appears, in the night, over marshy ground, supposed to be occasioned by the decomposition of animal or vegetable substances, or by some inflammable gas; -- popularly called also Will-with-the-wisp, or Will-o'-the-wisp, and Jack-with-a-lantern, or Jack-o'-lantern. It is thought by some to be caused by phosphine, PH3, a sponaneously combustible gas. [ 1913 Webster + PJC ]

Will o'the Wisp -- which also rejoices in the names of Ignis Fatuus or Jack o'Lantern -- is not, as some of you may think, a cartoon character. In mediaeval times this chemical phenomenon struck terror into travellers and, very likely, lured some of them to their deaths in a stinking and marshy grave.
I have never seen this Will o'the Wisp; nor am I likely to do so. It is a flickering flame seen over marshes; marshes are not now common in London, nor indeed anywhere else in Britain. In any case the ephemeral nature of the phenomenon and the enormous amount of ambient light “pollution” found in most areas means that most of us will never see it.
What is this Will o'the Wisp? Popular chemical lore has it that it is marsh gas, or methane, which catches fire when it hits the air because of the presence of either phosphine (PH3) or diphosphine (P2H4) in the gas, both of which are spontaneously flammable in air. Methane is certainly formed in marshes, and bubbles up if the mud is disturbed in a pond, say. It is the same reaction that enables organic materials to produce biogas, methane from the decomposition of sewage, which can be profitably used. But is it this that is burning in Will o'the Wisp?
Almost certainly not. At this point I will say that I have thought for some years off and on as to how one might set up an experiment to test the hypotheses, since the sporadic and rare nature of the natural version renders its investigation a highly intractable problem. However: the combustion of methane under the conditions in a marsh would give a yellow flame, and heat.
Will o'the Wisp is not like this, so it is said. Firstly the flame is bluish, not yellow, and it is said to be a cold flame. The colour and the temperature suggests some sort of phosphorescence; since organic material contain phosphorus, the production of phosphine or diphosphine is scarcely impossible, and maybe it does oxidise via a mainly chemiluminescent reaction. The exact nature of the Will o'the Wisp reaction nevertheless remains, to me at any rate, a mystery. Similar phenomena have been reported in graveyards and are known as corpse candles. If anyone knows anything more, I would love to hear of it. A warning that if you look for it on the Web, you will get a great deal of bizarre stuff. You will also get the delightful picture from a Canadian artist which decorates the top of this page (https://web.archive.org/web/20120828064103/http://www.rod.beavon.clara.net/willo.htm), and a couple of poems at least. One is also by a Canadian, Annie Campbell Huestis, the other by the prolific fantasy poet Walter de la Mare.
The preparation of phosphine in the laboratory (by the teacher!) is fun, and perfectly safe in a fume cupboard. White phosphorus is boiled with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution in an apparatus from which all air must have been removed by purging with, say, natural gas. The phosphine will form marvellous smoke rings if allowed to bubble up through water in a pneumatic trough. This is an experiment for the teacher, needless to say. The experiment is described in Partington J.R., “A Textbook of Inorganic Chemistry”, 6th ed, Macmillan 1957, p 572. (So, inter alia, is a great deal of other interesting chemistry.)
Dr. Rod Beavon
17 Dean's Yard London SW1P 3PB
e-mail: [email protected] [ PJC ]

2. Fig.: A misleading influence; a decoy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Scared and guided by the ignis fatuus of popular superstition. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ignited p. pr. & vb. n. Igniting. ] [ L. ignitus, p. p. of ignire to ignite, fr. ignis fire. See Igneous. ] 1. To kindle or set on fire; as, to ignite paper or wood. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) To subject to the action of intense heat; to heat strongly; -- often said of incombustible or infusible substances; as, to ignite iron or platinum. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To take fire; to begin to burn. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. set afire or burning.
Syn. -- enkindled, kindled, lit, lighted. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. a substance used to ignite or kindle a fire.
Syn. -- ignitor, lighter. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a device for lighting or igniting fuel or charges or fires.
Syn. -- lighter, light, ignitor. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Capable of being ignited. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. ignition. ] 1. The act of igniting, kindling, or setting on fire. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being ignited or kindled. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, produces ignition; especially, a contrivance for igniting the powder in a torpedo or the like. [ Written also igniter. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. ignivomus; ignis fire + vomere 8vomit. ] Vomiting fire. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. indignus unworthy + -fy. ] To treat disdainfully or with indignity; to contemn. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Indignities [ L. indignitas: cf. F. indignité. See Indign. ] Any action toward another which manifests contempt for him; an offense against personal dignity; unmerited contemptuous treatment; contumely; incivility or injury, accompanied with insult. [ 1913 Webster ]

How might a prince of my great hopes forget
So great indignities you laid upon me? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

A person of so great place and worth constrained to endure so foul indignities. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ L. insigne, pl. insignia, fr. insignis distinguished by a mark; pref. in- in + signum a mark, sign. See Ensign, Sign. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Distinguishing marks of authority, office, or honor; badges; tokens; decorations; as, the insignia of royalty or of an order. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Typical and characteristic marks or signs, by which anything is known or distinguished; as, the insignia of a trade. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The condition or quality of being insignificant; lack of significance, sense, or meaning; as, the insignificance of words or phrases. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Lack of force or effect; unimportance; pettiness; inefficacy; as, the insignificance of human art. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Lack of claim to consideration or notice; lack of influence or standing; meanness. [ 1913 Webster ]

Reduce him, from being the first person in the nation, to a state of insignificance. Beattie. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Insignificance. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Not significant; void of signification, sense, or import; meaningless; as, insignificant words. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having no weight or effect; answering no purpose; unimportant; valueless; futile. [ 1913 Webster ]

Laws must be insignificant without the sanction of rewards and punishments. Bp. Wilkins. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Without weight of character or social standing; mean; contemptible; as, an insignificant person.

Syn. -- Unimportant; immaterial; inconsiderable; small; inferior; trivial; mean; contemptible. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. without significance, importance, or effect; to no purpose. “Anger insignificantly fierce.” Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. insignificativus. See In- not, and Significative. ] Not expressing meaning; not significant. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. lignifer; lignum wood + ferre to bear: cf. F. lignifère. ] Yielding or producing wood. [ 1913 Webster ]