Vulcan

American  

[vuhl-kuhn] / ˈvʌl kən /

noun

1. the ancient Roman god of fire and metalworking, identified with the Greek Hephaestus.

2. Military. a six-barrel, 20 mm U.S. Army antiaircraft gun system mounted on an armored personnel carrier and first deployed in 1968.

3. Astronomy. a hypothetical planet nearest the sun whose existence was erroneously postulated to account for perturbations in Mercury's orbit.

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Vulcan ¹ British  

/ ˈvʌlkən, vʌlˈkeɪnɪən /

noun

1. a hypothetical planet once thought to lie within the orbit of Mercury

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Vulcan ² British  

/ vʌlˈkeɪnɪən, ˈvʌlkən /

noun

1. Greek counterpart: Hephaestus.  the Roman god of fire and metalworking

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Vulcan Cultural  

1. The Roman and Greek god of fire and metalworking; the blacksmith of the gods. He suffered bodily deformities and lameness. According to some stories, he was married to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty; in other stories, he was married to one of the three Graces. Vulcan was a son of Jupiter.

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Other Word Forms

• Vulcanian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Vulcan

First recorded in 1505–15, Vulcan is from the Latin word Vulcānus

Example Sentences

As for the end of the supply chain, startups Vulcan Elements and eVAC Magnetics started making permanent magnets last year.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

"We're not just selling magnets," Vulcan Elements CEO John Maslin told AFP.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

Around 20 years ago, it ditched an antiaircraft gun called the Vulcan as it transitioned to missile-based defense.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

Jason Hunke, a spokesman for Vulcan, the umbrella organization that oversees Paul Allen’s sports assets, didn’t comment on the fine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

I had become his mini-me—a parsimonious, self-sufficient Vulcan who pretended everything was great when it really wasn’t.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King