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

Example Sentences

“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

Crude wood spirit, which has been freed from acetic acid, consists in the main of a mixture of acetone and methyl- alcohol.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)

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 Yeats, W. B. (William Butler)

This crude wood acid is distilled, and the wood spirit which distils off first is collected separately from the acetic acid which afterwards comes over.

From The Chemistry of Hat Manufacturing Lectures Delivered Before the Hat Manufacturers' Association by Shonk, Albert