sulfur

[suhl-fer]

noun

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).

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 of sulfur

Sulfur boosts glutathione because glutathione is, in part, made up of sulfur molecules, explains Hyman.
5 Healthier Ways to Detox (That Aren’t Juice Cleanses)
DailyBurn
February 20, 2014
Pfifferling, like most natural wine producers, adds no sulfur dioxide aside from minimal amounts when he bottles the wine.
The No Hangover Wine
Jordan Salcito
November 17, 2013

Historical Examples of sulfur

Violently ill, I felt the sulfur dioxide rush from my lungs.
Question of Comfort
Les Collins
A sulfid is a combination of sulfur with a metal or other body.
Tin Foil and Its Combinations for Filling Teeth
Henry L. Ambler
Under no circumstances, however, ignite any sulfur in a greenhouse.
The Practical Garden-Book
C. E. Hunn
These are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and (possibly) sulfur.
The Chemistry of Plant Life
Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
Four are non-metallic solids: carbon, sulfur, phosphorus and silicon.
Creative Chemistry
Edwin E. Slosson

British Dictionary definitions for sulfur

sulfur

noun

the US preferred spelling of sulphur

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

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.

sulfur in Medicine

sulfur

n. Symbol S

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.

sulfur in Science

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.