Feiervoggel

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Feier (“fire”) +‎ Voggel (“bird”)

Noun

Feiervoggel m (plural Feierveggel)

  1. firefly, lightning bug
    • 1938, poem published in the journal of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society, page 26:
      Der Feiervoggel baut ken Nescht,
      Er singt net in de Baem;
      Er hot en Lutzer hinne fescht.
      The firefly doesn't build a nest,
      He doesn't sing in the trees;
      He has a lantern affixed behind [him].

References
  • Earl C Haag, Pennsylvania German Reader and Grammar (2010), page 204
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