noun
- luminous electrical discharges that appear on ship masts, aircraft wings, or other pointed objects during thunderstorms
Usage: nautical; meteorological; plural form
Examples
- The sailors watched in awe as corposants danced on the ship’s rigging during the storm.
- Corposants appeared on the aircraft’s wingtips as it flew through the electrical storm.
- The captain had seen corposants many times before, but the crew was fascinated by the blue flames.
- Ancient mariners considered corposants to be a good omen from St. Elmo.
- The meteorologist explained that corposants are caused by electrical discharge in the atmosphere.
- Corposants flickered along the metal railings as the thunderstorm intensified.