wood spirit

American  

noun

1. methyl alcohol.

2. (especially in folklore) a supernatural, incorporeal being believed to inhabit the forest.

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wood spirit British  

noun

1. chem another name for methanol

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Etymology

Origin of wood spirit

First recorded in 1835–45

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wood spirit

“I’ve got a crystal ball, and I’ve got a wood spirit hanging in my office,” head coach Mike Zimmer said.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 1, 2018

She moved through the trees as quickly as a wood spirit.

From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman

Hofmann violets discovered; leading to manufacture of methyl iodide from iodine, phosphorus, and wood spirit.

From Coal and What We Get from It by Raphael Meldola

Or sometimes again she is like a wood spirit, or an elemental creature such as was Undine.

From A History of English Romanticism in the Nineteenth Century by Henry A. (Henry Augustin) Beers

It may be that this, like the others, was not the devil at all, but some poor wood spirit whose cloven feet had got him into trouble.

From The Celtic Twilight by W. B. (William Butler) Yeats

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