phlogiston

views updated May 11 2018

phlogiston Odourless, colourless and weightless material believed by early scientists to be the source of all heat and fire. Combustion was believed to involve the loss of phlogiston. The phlogiston theory was proved erroneous when the true nature of combustion was explained by French chemist Antoine Lavoisier.

World Encyclopedia

phlogiston

views updated Jun 08 2018

phlo·gis·ton / flōˈjistän; -tən/ • n. a substance supposed by 18th-century chemists to exist in all combustible bodies, and to be released in combustion.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

phlogiston

views updated May 11 2018

phlogiston a substance supposed by 18th-century chemists to exist in all combustible bodies, and to be released in combustion. The phlogiston theory was discredited when Antoine Lavoisier showed the true nature of oxygen.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

phlogiston

views updated May 17 2018

phlogiston (old chem.) principle of inflammability. XVIII. — Gr. phlogistón, n. of phlogistós burnt up, inflammable, f. phlogízein set on tire, f. *phlog- burn; see next.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD