Saint Anthony's fire

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Saint′ An′thony's fire′, [Pathol.] (formerly)

1. Pathology any of certain skin conditions that are of an inflammatory or gangrenous nature, as erysipelas, hospital gangrene, or ergotism.

• 1570–80

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Saint Anthony's fire noun
usually abbreviated to: St Anthony's fire

1. another name for ergotism, erysipelas

Etymology: 16th Century: so named because praying to St Anthony was believed to effect a cure