Tephra
//ˈtɛ.fɹə// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The solid material thrown into the air by a volcanic eruption that settles on the surrounding areas. countable, uncountable
"The sky would have darkened with sheer volume of ash, the grapes would have withered upon the vine; misfortune would have fallen with the inexorability of volcanic tephra upon rich and poor alike."
Example
More examples"The sky would have darkened with sheer volume of ash, the grapes would have withered upon the vine; misfortune would have fallen with the inexorability of volcanic tephra upon rich and poor alike."
Etymology
From the Ancient Greek τέφρα (téphra, “ash”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.