fogbow means A white arc or circle, similar to a rainbow, which can appear in the sky in foggy conditions as sunlight passes through small airborne water droplets.
Why “fogbow” is a great word
A faint, white or colorless arc appearing in fog or mist, formed by the diffraction of sunlight through minute water droplets. A blend of 'fog' and 'rainbow,' first attested in 1820 by the Arctic scientist William Scoresby. Unlike a rainbow, which demands larger drops to refract and flaunt its spectrum, or a glory, which clings tightly to the observer’s own shadow, a fogbow is a spectral monochrome, a ghost of its more vivid cousins. It is a pale ring hanging in a cold sea mist, a breath of light on a mountain ridge, a hesitant promise written in water and air—the universe proving its patterns persist even in the faintest of whispers.
Etymology
Blend of fog + rainbow.
noun
- A white arc or circle, similar to a rainbow, which can appear in the sky in foggy conditions as sunlight passes through small airborne water droplets.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- frostbow 92% match — A white arc or circle in the sky during frosty weather, formed by reflection of sunlight from ice crystals floating in the air. vs fogbow →
- foambow 89% match — A kind of rainbow or fogbow seen as sunlight passes through the airborne water droplets of a waterfall. vs fogbow →
- moonbow 89% match — A rainbow formed by moonlight diffracted by water droplets in the air, usually fainter than a daytime rainbow and with fewer distinguishable colours. vs fogbow →
- sunbow 86% match — A bow or arc of prismatic colors like a rainbow, caused by refraction through a spray of water from a cataract, waterfall, fountain, etc., rather than through droplets of rain. vs fogbow →
- fogdog 85% match — a ray of light seen amidst fog vs fogbow →
- iceblink 83% match — A glare in the sky caused by reflection of light from an ice field. vs fogbow →
- anthelion 82% match — A faint, white halo rarely seen in the sky opposite the sun on the parhelic circle vs fogbow →
- heiligenschein 81% match — An optical phenomenon which creates a bright spot around the shadow of the viewer's head, when the surface on which the shadow falls has special optical characteristics (as with dewy grass). vs fogbow →