dephlogisticated air
Oxygen gas, as originally thought to be air deprived of phlogistonOxygen gas, as originally thought to be air deprived of phlogiston (“the hypothetical fiery principle formerly assumed to be a necessary constituent of combustible bodies and to be given up by them in burning”).
Meaning
1 senses(historical, uncountable)Oxygen gas, as originally thought to be air deprived of phlogiston (“the hypothetical fiery principle formerly assumed to be a necessary constituent of combustible bodies and to be given up by them in burning”).
Origin
From dephlogisticated (“from which the phlogiston has been removed”) + air, coined by theFrom dephlogisticated (“from which the phlogiston has been removed”) + air, coined by the English chemist Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) in a 1775 article entitled “An Account of Further Discoveries in Air” published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: see the quotation.
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Synonyms
1 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable