fata morgana Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a mirage in the Strait of Messina (attributed to the Arthurian sorcerer Morgan le Fay)

WordNet

Fa"ta Mor*ga"na
Etymology
It.; -- so called because this phenomenon was looked upon as the work of a fairy (It. fata) of the name of Morgána. See Fairy.
Definitions
  1. A kind of mirage by which distant objects appear inverted, distorted, displaced, or multiplied. It is noticed particularly at the Straits of Messina, between Calabria and Sicily.

Webster 1913