The desert travelers were deceived by the mirage that made a distant oasis appear before them.

mirage 来自法语，由词根 mir-（看）和后缀 -age（状态）组成，字面意思是"被看到的景象"。这个词特指在沙漠或炎热地面因光线折射而产生的虚幻景象，即"海市蜃楼"，看起来像是远处有水或绿洲。