Phlogiston
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /flə(ʊ)ˈd͡ʒɪstɒn/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Phlogiston is a noun meaning (chemistry, historical) The hypothetical fiery principle formerly assumed to be a necessary constituent of combustible bodies and to be given up by them in burning.
Meaning
(chemistry, historical) The hypothetical fiery principle formerly assumed to be a necessary constituent of combustible bodies and to be given up by them in burning.
Example Sentences
Stahl argued that phlogiston could explain combustion, a central concern of eighteenth-century chemistry.
[…] 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.
Word Forms
- phlogistons
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include protyle, chemism, pyroacid, pyroleter, volatile, pyrotoxin.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.