What does "vulcan" mean?
A blacksmith; a metalworker.
Vulcan
/ˈvʌlkən/ adj, name, noun, slang
adj, name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A blacksmith; a metalworker.
- Grammar: vulcan is listed as adj, name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: agdistis, amor, aphrodite, apollo.
- Useful contrasts: confirmed planet, mortal, nondeity.
- Usage evidence: Every human envies the human admired by every Vulcan.
How to use "vulcan"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "vulcan" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "vulcan" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "vulcan" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "vulcan" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "vulcan" is acting as adj, name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "agdistis" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "vulcan", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A blacksmith; a metalworker. countable
"How ſay you fryer Robert, out of what foꝛge came theſe warlike engins? they were hammered in Salamanca the ſeuenth day of March, 1602. and are as you ſee, read hote. But what Vulcan was the woꝛkeman of them?"
- 2 An inhabitant of the planet Vulcan; a species that values a personal emphasis on logic and strict personal emotional control.
- 3 The Avro Vulcan, a type of jet-powered British bomber aircraft built by Avro during the Cold War.
- 4 One who is lame (unable to walk properly), especially with a twisted or otherwise misshapen leg. archaic, countable
"To make you merry that are the Gods of Art, and guides vnto heauen, a number of rude Vulcans, vnweldy ſpeakers, hammer-headed clownes (for ſo it pleaſeth them in modeſtie to name themſelues) haue ſet their deformities to view, as it were in a daunce here before you."
- 5 A person who, like the fictional Vulcans, seems to lack emotion or is overly analytical and boring. derogatory, slang
"It’s a personality thing more than anything else, as [Barack] Obama has a tendency to appear cold – unwilling or unable to act anything like a father figure."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Fire; a fire. countable, literary, obsolete, uncountable
"Comme vn foible Vulcan, que la troupe frilleuſe / Des paſteurs laiſſe cheoir dans l’orée fueilleuſe / D’vne vaſte foreſt, ſe tient coy quelque tems, / Eſleuant des nuaux fumeuſement flottans / Sur vn humble buiſſon: puis aydé par Zephire / Fait voye rougiſſant aux efforts de ſon ire: / Monte du bas hallier au flairant Aubeſpin, […]"
- 7 A volcano. countable, obsolete
"Mas de los fuegos, que ay en Bolcanes de Indias, que tienen digna conſideracion, diraſe commodamente, quando ſe trate de la diuerſidad de tierras, donde eſſos fuegos, y bolcanes ſe hallan."
Adjective
- 1 Of, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of the fictional Vulcans.
"On the other hand, any being with intellect, will and self-awareness is, by definition, human, whatever its outward appearance or solar system of origin. Captain Kirk is properly Terran, as Spock is Vulcan or Worf is Klingon. They are all human."
- 2 Lacking emotion or overly analytical and boring. derogatory, slang
"The military has staffing down to a science (note that the top job is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). Even four-star generals can think like a staffer. [Colin] Powell’s natural human instinct as a principal might be to run for president, but his Vulcan-staffer side tells him it’s a crazy idea."
Proper Noun
- 1 The god of volcanoes and fire, especially the forge, also the patron of all craftsmen, especially blacksmiths. The Roman counterpart of Hephaestus. Roman
"The goddess Venus was the wife of Vulcan."
- 2 An inhabited planet, the homeworld of the Vulcan species.
"Steve and I explained the new program to our children, who looked at us as if we had just announced that we were from the planet Vulcan."
- 3 A placename.; A town in Vulcan County, southern Alberta, Canada.
- 4 A language constructed for the Star Trek franchise, spoken by the fictional Vulcan species.
- 5 A placename.; A volcano in Papua New Guinea.
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 A placename.; A place in Romania.; A commune of Brașov County, Romania.
- 7 A placename.; A place in Romania.; A city in Hunedoara County, Romania.
- 8 A placename.; A place in Romania.; A village in the commune of Apold, Mureș County, Romania.
- 9 A placename.; A place in Romania.; A village in the commune of Ciuruleasa, Alba County, Romania.
- 10 A placename.; A place in the United States.; A ghost town in Gunnison County, Colorado.
- 11 A placename.; A place in the United States.; An unincorporated community in Norway Township, Dickinson County, Michigan.
- 12 A placename.; A place in the United States.; An unincorporated community in Iron County, Missouri.
- 13 A placename.; A place in the United States.; An inactive volcano in New Mexico, United States.
- 14 A placename.; A hypothetical planet proposed in the 19th century to exist in an orbit between Mercury and the Sun. historical
"When Mercury's orbit was discovered to deviate from the predictions from Isaac Newton's laws of gravity, astronomers hypothesized the existence of planet Vulcan, whose gravity could be used to affect Mercury in such a way that Newton's laws were obeyed."
- 15 A placename.; Ellipsis of Vulcan County. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Example
"Every human envies the human admired by every Vulcan."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "vulcan"?
Common synonyms include: agdistis, amor, aphrodite, apollo, apollon, ares.
How do you use "vulcan" in a sentence?
Every human envies the human admired by every Vulcan.
How do you pronounce "vulcan"?
Pronounced /ˈvʌlkən/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English Vulcan, Vulcanus, Wlcan, from Old English Ulcanus (genitive), from Classical Latin Vulcānus, probably from Etruscan although very unclear, but unknown meaning and further origin (see more in Latin entry). Doublet of bolcane and volcano. Proper noun sense 2.5 (“hypothetical planet”) is a semantic loan from French Vulcan, coined by French physicist, mathematician and astronomer Jacques Babinet in 1846, who proposed this name after the god for a planet close to the Sun. Noun senses 1 (“blacksmith; metalworker”), 2 (“one who is lame”), and 3 (“fire”) are allusions to Vulcan as the god of fire and metalworking and his lameness. Compare Middle French Vulcan (“blacksmith; metalworker”), also attested in early modern French meaning “fire” in apparently isolated use. Noun sense 4 (“volcano”) is from Middle English wlcane, originally after Middle French Vulcan, wlcan, and chiefly after Spanish volcán in subsequent use, ultimately arising from Latin Vulcānus and Italian Vulcano as a name for Mount Etna and one or more of the Aeolian Islands (with active volcanoes on the islands now called Vulcano and Stromboli), probably after Arabic بُرْكَان (burkān, “volcano”), ultimately reflecting the Latin and Italian place names.
Etymology 2
From Vulcan (etymology 1), from the Star Trek TV series of the 1960s. The adjective is by analogy with -an.
Etymology 3
From Vulcan (etymology 1).