PHLOGISTON

phlogiston

(noun) a hypothetical substance once believed to be present in all combustible materials and to be released during burning

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

phlogiston (usually uncountable, plural phlogistons)

(chemistry, historical) The hypothetical fiery principle formerly assumed to be a necessary constituent of combustible bodies and to be given up by them in burning.

Anagrams

• postholing

Source: Wiktionary

Phlo*gis"ton, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. Phlox.] (Old Chem.)

Definition: The hypothetical principle of fire, or inflammability, regarded by Stahl as a chemical element.

Note: This was supposed to be united with combustible (phlogisticated) bodies and to be separated from incombustible (dephlogisticated) bodies, the phenomena of flame and burning being the escape of phlogiston. Soot and sulphur were regarded as nearly pure phlogiston. The essential principle of this theory was, that combustion was a decomposition rather than the union and combination which it has since been shown to be.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition