a·li·mag·mág
This word appears in the Vocabulario de la lengua Tagala, the first Tagalog dictionary, which was published in the year 1613.
The definition in Spanish was “Moho… Que se cria en cañas, o madera, que reluce de noche.”
The sample usage given in that book was alimagmag sa kawayan (mold in bamboo).
The explanation is that it is mold or mildew in wood that appears to give off light at night, but cannot be seen during the day.
Today, we know that it is actually bioluminescent fungi.
alimagmag
foxfire
Foxfire, also called fairy fire or chimpanzee fire, is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. Aristotle referred to it as fire that does not give off heat.
In the 1754 edition of the dictionary, two definitions were listed. One, meaning bright”. Two, “small shrimp dried in the sun.”
The word alimagmag was also mentioned in the 19th-century work of Sinibaldo de Mas titled Informe sobre el estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1842. In it, he says there are mushrooms and plant leaves in the Philippines that give off light at night. In particular, he wrote “…there is a plant that is special… called alimagmag or alinagnag.”
MGA KAHULUGAN SA TAGALOG
alimagmág: pinatuyông alamang na pataba sa haláman
alimagmág: paraan ng pagpapatuyô ng alamang sa init ng araw
alimagmág: kintab o kakintaban ng isang baga
