firedamp

[fahyuh r-damp]

noun Mining.

a combustible gas consisting chiefly of methane, formed especially in coal mines, and dangerously explosive when mixed with certain proportions of atmospheric air.
the explosive mixture itself.

Origin of firedamp

First recorded in 1670–80; fire + damp

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for firedamp

Historical Examples of firedamp

Mr. Crotchet, jun.—I hope, Mr. Firedamp, you will let your friendship carry you a little closer into the jaws of the lion.
Crotchet Castle
Thomas Love Peacock
Next to her is Mr. Firedamp, a very absurd person, who thinks that water is the evil principle.
Crotchet Castle
Thomas Love Peacock
Proceeding to the edge of the moat, they fished up Mr. Firedamp, who had missed his way back, and tumbled in.
Crotchet Castle
Thomas Love Peacock
As well might the vapours of the swamp be purified by filling it with the firedamp.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine--Volume 62, No. 386, December, 1847
Various
When exploded by electricity, as in the previous case, no flame was produced, nor was the firedamp ignited.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 620, November 19,1887
Various

British Dictionary definitions for firedamp

firedamp

noun

a mixture of hydrocarbons, chiefly methane, formed in coal mines. It forms explosive mixtures with airSee also afterdamp

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012