Phlogiston
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The hypothetical fiery principle formerly assumed to be a necessary constituent of combustible bodies and to be given up by them in burning. historical, uncountable, usually
"[…] air was universally reputed to be a simple or elementary body. It was liable, according to the phlogistians, to vitiation, by the addition to it of phlogiston[…] being more or less phlogisticated, according to the degree of its power to support respiration and combustion."
- 2 a hypothetical substance once believed to be present in all combustible materials and to be released during burning wordnet
Example
More examples"[…] air was universally reputed to be a simple or elementary body. It was liable, according to the phlogistians, to vitiation, by the addition to it of phlogiston[…] being more or less phlogisticated, according to the degree of its power to support respiration and combustion."
Etymology
From New Latin phlogiston, coined by Georg Ernst Stahl in 1702, from Ancient Greek φλογιστόν (phlogistón), neuter of φλογιστός (phlogistós, “burnt up, inflammable”), from φλογίζω (phlogízō, “to set fire to”), from φλόξ (phlóx, “flame”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.