Mirage
mirage [mi-rahzh]
noun
1. an optical phenomenon, especially in the desert or at sea, by which the image of some object appears displaced above, below,
or to one side of its true position as a result of spatial variations of the index of refraction of air.
2. something illusory, without substance or reality.
3. military; any of a series of supersonic, delta-wing, multirole French fighter-bombers.
Origin of mirage 1795-1805; French, equivalent to see, mirror, to look at oneself, be reflected < Latin mīrārī to wonder at.
Synonyms
2. illusion, phantom, fancy.