sulfur
[suhl-fer]
- Also especially British, sulphur. Chemistry. a nonmetallic element that exists in several forms, the ordinary one being a yellow rhombic crystalline solid, and that burns with a blue flame and a suffocating odor: used especially in making gunpowder and matches, in medicine, in vulcanizing rubber, etc. Symbol: S; atomic weight: 32.064; atomic number: 16; specific gravity: 2.07 at 20° C.
- sulphur(def 2).
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Origin of sulfur
1300–50; Middle English sulphur < Latin sulpur, sulphur, sulfur brimstone, sulfur
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sulfur
Contemporary Examples
Sulfur boosts glutathione because glutathione is, in part, made up of sulfur molecules, explains Hyman.
Pfifferling, like most natural wine producers, adds no sulfur dioxide aside from minimal amounts when he bottles the wine.
Historical Examples
Violently ill, I felt the sulfur dioxide rush from my lungs.
Question of ComfortLes Collins
A sulfid is a combination of sulfur with a metal or other body.
Tin Foil and Its Combinations for Filling TeethHenry L. Ambler
Under no circumstances, however, ignite any sulfur in a greenhouse.
The Practical Garden-BookC. E. Hunn
These are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and (possibly) sulfur.
The Chemistry of Plant LifeRoscoe Wilfred Thatcher
Four are non-metallic solids: carbon, sulfur, phosphorus and silicon.
Creative ChemistryEdwin E. Slosson
sulfur
- the US preferred spelling of sulphur
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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
Word Origin and History for sulfur
n.
also sulphur, c.1300, from Old French soufre (13c.), from Late Latin sulfur, from Latin sulphur, probably from a root meaning "to burn." Ousted native brimstone and cognate Old English swefl.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
sulfur
- A yellow nonmetallic element occurring widely in nature in several free and combined allotropic forms and used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and many sulfur compounds, especially sulfuric acid. Atomic number 16.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
sulfur
- A pale-yellow, brittle nonmetallic element that occurs widely in nature, especially in volcanic deposits, minerals, natural gas, and petroleum. It is used to make gunpowder and fertilizer, to vulcanize rubber, and to produce sulfuric acid. Atomic number 16; atomic weight 32.066; melting point (rhombic) 112.8°C; (monoclinic) 119.0°C; boiling point 444.6°C; specific gravity (rhombic) 2.07; (monoclinic) 1.957; valence 2, 4, 6. See Periodic Table.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.