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jack-o'-lantern

Etymology and origin of the English word jack-o'-lantern

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdʒæk.əʊˌlæn.tən/ (UK); /ˈdʒæk.oʊˌlæn.təɹn/, /ˈdʒæk.əˌlæn.təɹn/ (US)[1]

Etymology

From Jack, o’ “of” and lantern.[2] It was first Jack with the lanthorn (1650s),[2] shortened to jack-o-lantern or jack-a-lantern by 1750.[2] Wiktionary notes that it first named a night watchman who carried a lantern.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OED's first sense, from 1663, is a man with a lantern, a night watchman.[3] The name was soon given to the ignis fatuus or will-o'-the-wisp, the ghostly light seen over marshes at night:[3][2][1] the OED dates this to 1673, Merriam-Webster to 1667, and Wiktionary to the 1660s, mainly in East Anglia.[3][4][1] Earlier folk names for the light used Will (1590s) or Meg (1650s) in place of Jack.[2]

Semantic evolution

The name passed to a lantern made from a hollowed vegetable with a face cut into it;[3][5][6] the OED's 1837 definition includes lanterns made of a turnip as well as a pumpkin.[3] The carved pumpkin is attested in American English by 1828 according to Etymonline,[2] from 1834 according to Wiktionary,[1] and 1837 in the OED.[3] It is now displayed especially at Halloween.[5][4][6]

Timeline

  • 1650s – Jack with the lanthorn.[2]
  • 1663 – “night watchman”.[3]
  • 1673 – “will-o'-the-wisp”.[3]
  • by 1750 – jack-a-lantern, jack-o-lantern.[2]
  • 1828 – a carved pumpkin lantern, in American English.[2]
  • 1837 – a turnip or pumpkin lantern, in the OED.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A lantern made from a hollowed-out pumpkin with a face carved into it, displayed at Halloween.
  2. A will-o'-the-wisp; a flickering light over marshy ground.
  3. A poisonous, glowing orange mushroom.

Related words

References

  1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. [1] [2] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. [1] [2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
Cite this entry

“Jack-o'-lantern.” Etymologically, 7 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/jack-o'-lantern. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .