Standard Lemma guide

foxfire

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfɒksfaɪə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈfɑksˌfaɪ(ə)ɹ/
  • CMU ARPABET: F AA1 K S F AY2 R Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: F AA1 K S F AY2 ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Bioluminescence created by some types of fungus, particularly those growing on rotting wood.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, uncountable

Topics: biology, mycology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chimpanzee fire, fairy fire

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Wood exhibiting fungal bioluminescence; torchwood.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Possibly from fox + fire, though the semantic connection is unclear. Alternatively, the first element may be ultimately from Old French fols (“false”), or the term may derive by folk etymology from phosphor.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: فوكسفيري — bioluminescence created by some types of fungus
  • Finnish: peikonkulta — bioluminescence created by some types of fungus
  • Hebrew: אש השועל — bioluminescence created by some types of fungus
  • Japanese: 狐火 (kitsunebi) — bioluminescence created by some types of fungus
  • Tamil: பாக்ஸ்ஃபையர் (pāksfaiyar) — bioluminescence created by some types of fungus