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Vesuvian

[vuh-soo-vee-uh n]
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or resembling Mount Vesuvius; volcanic.
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noun
  1. (lowercase) a type of match formerly used for lighting cigars; fusee.
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Origin of Vesuvian

First recorded in 1665–75; Vesuvi(us) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for vesuvian

Historical Examples

  • Then—the campaign with its crowds, its enthusiasm, its Vesuvian mutterings.

    A Man for the Ages

    Irving Bacheller

  • Observation on the volcanoes of other districts show that the Vesuvian group is in this regard not peculiar.

    Outlines of the Earth's History

    Nathaniel Southgate Shaler

  • The name anorthite was given to the Vesuvian mineral by G. Rose in 1823, on account of its anorthic crystallization.

  • Pratt started, flushed angrily, and brushed the vesuvian from his coat, but not until it had burned there a round black spot.

    Thereby Hangs a Tale

    George Manville Fenn

  • A Vesuvian explosion seemed to heave in his capacious bosom, and found vent in a furious roar.

    The Prairie Chief

    R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for vesuvian

vesuvian

noun
  1. (esp formerly) a match for lighting cigars; fusee
  2. another name for vesuvianite
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Word Origin

C18 (the mineral), C19 (the match): both named after Vesuvius
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