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lewisite

American

[loo-uh-sahyt] / ˈlu əˌsaɪt /

noun

a pale yellow, odorless compound, C 2 H 2 AsCl 3 , used as a blister gas in World War I.

lewisite British

/ ˈluːɪˌsaɪt /

noun

a colourless oily poisonous liquid with an odour resembling that of geraniums, having a powerful vesicant action and used as a war gas; 1-chloro-2-dichloroarsinoethene. Formula: ClCH:CHAsCl 2

"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

Etymology

Origin of lewisite

1920–25; named after Winford Lee Lewis (1878–1943), American chemist who developed it; see -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One woman, a service trainee for the US Air Force, reported being ordered to run through a cloud of the organoarsenic compound lewisite in a “gas acquaintance procedure” during flight training in Houston, Texas.

From Nature • Jan. 10, 2017

The poison gases: mustard, lewisite, ethyldichlorarsine, chlorpicrin, diphosgene, phosgene and chlorine.

From Time Magazine Archive

A lewisite plant was erected at Willoughby, Ohio, surrounded by a high fence and heavy guards.

From Time Magazine Archive

The chemicals involved include nerve gas, mustard gas, lewisite and mycotoxins.

From Time Magazine Archive

Standard treatment for burns, whether caused by incendiary bombs, mustard gas or lewisite, is application of tannic-acid dressings.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023