soot
[soo t, soot]
- a black, carbonaceous substance produced during incomplete combustion of coal, wood, oil, etc., rising in fine particles and adhering to the sides of the chimney or pipe conveying the smoke: also conveyed in the atmosphere to other locations.
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- to mark, cover, or treat with soot.
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Origin of soot
before 900; Middle English; Old English sōt; cognate with Old Norse sōt
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for soot
Contemporary Examples
There is also soot staining the tiles, suggesting the bodies were burned or there had been a small blast.
Air pollution gets worse during drought; in California the problem is soot, and in Texas it was ozone.
Some computer models, he said, indicate that about half of the global warming in the Arctic is driven by methane and soot.
If you look inside, you'll find walls black with soot, smoke to make you cough, and a few women getting lunch ready.
Soot, methane, ozone, and HFCs are a lot less sexy than flying to Rio and making bold promises.
Hillary Clinton’s Plan to Get Serious About Global WarmingDavid G. Victor, Charles F. Kennel, Veerabhadran Ramanathan
June 21, 2012
Historical Examples
The shop was built of rough boards, and the inside was blackened with soot.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
The button of soot has vanished into the limbo of superseded inventions.
Heroes of the TelegraphJ. Munro
Nothing, however, appeared to have been touched or disturbed, and there was no soot on the floor.
The ChanningsMrs. Henry Wood
The gas had left what appeared to be like a daub of soot on the ceiling.
L'AssommoirEmile Zola
And I rubs my hand on the wall where he got over, and there was soot on it, and no mistake.
A Tangled TaleLewis Carroll
soot
- finely divided carbon deposited from flames during the incomplete combustion of organic substances such as coal
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- (tr) to cover with soot
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Word Origin
Old English sōt; related to Old Norse, Middle Low German sōt, Lithuanian sódis, Old Slavonic sažda, Old Irish sūide
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for soot
n.
Old English sot "soot," from Proto-Germanic *sotam "soot" (cf. Old Norse sot, Old Dutch soet, North Frisian sutt), literally "what settles," from PIE *sod-o- (cf. Old Church Slavonic sažda, Lithuanian suodžiai, Old Irish suide, Breton huzel "soot"), suffixed form of root *sed- (1) "to sit" (see sedentary).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
soot
[sut]
- A black, powdery substance that consists mainly of carbon and is formed through the incomplete combustion of wood, coal, diesel oil, or other materials. Because it absorbs energy from sunlight rather than reflecting it, soot is believed to be a cause of global warming, especially when it settles on snow and ice, reducing their reflectivity. Soot particles in the air are a contributing factor in respiratory diseases.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.