white damp

American  

noun

1. a poisonous coal-mine gas composed chiefly of carbon monoxide.

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Etymology

Origin of white damp

First recorded in 1880–85

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

white damp

On the white, damp wall of the Yahidne school basement is a crude calendar, drawn in red crayon.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2022

Fire damp, this diviner used to say, looked like a figure veiled in red, black damp was veiled in black wi' white edges, white damp was bluish, an' stink damp was yellow.

From The Boy With the U.S. Miners by Francis Rolt-Wheeler

After we had passed the houses of a little village a heavy mist fell upon us, white, damp, and clogging.

From Romance by Joseph Conrad

Carbon monoxide, which is white damp, is more dreaded by the miners than any other gas because it is difficult to detect, having no odour, taste or colour.

From Seeds of Pine by Janey Canuck

"The white damp of those days was due to the heavy charges of gunpowder or low explosive that were used, explosives which are forbidden now in dangerous mines."

From The Boy With the U.S. Miners by Francis Rolt-Wheeler

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