nuée ardente

[French ny-ey ar-dahnt]

noun, plural nu·ées ar·dentes

[French ny-ey zar-dahnt] /French nü eɪ zarˈdɑ̃t/. Geology.

(in a volcanic eruption) a swiftly flowing, dense cloud of hot gases, ashes, and lava fragments.

Origin of nuée ardente

1900–05; < French: literally, burning cloud

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

British Dictionary definitions for nuee ardente

nuée ardente

noun

a rapidly moving turbulent incandescent cloud of gas, ash, and rock fragments flowing close to the ground after violent ejection from a volcanoSee also ignimbrite

Word Origin for nuée ardente

C20: from French, literally: burning cloud

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

nuee ardente in Science

nuée ardente

[nōō-ā′ ăr-däɴt′]

Plural nuées ardentes (nōō-āz′ ăr-däɴt′)

A fast moving gaseous cloud of hot ashes and other material thrown out from an erupting volcano. Nuées ardentes are often incandescent.