marsh gasn.
/ˈmɑːʃ ɡas/, U.S. /ˈmɑrʃ ˌɡæs/ Gas consisting chiefly of methane (CH4), formed by the decomposition of vegetation and other organic matter, esp. in the stagnant water of marshes and swamps; methane. Cf. firedamp n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > poison > [noun] > poisonous exhalation > in mines or stagnant pools
dampa1592
stanch1693
suffocating damp1695
stythe1708
surfeit1708
choke-damp1766
afterdamp1813
white damp1817
marsh gas1848
stanch-air1883
the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > noxious vapour or gas > in mines
dampa1592
marsh gas1848
1848 G. Fownes Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 2) 150 Light carburetted hydrogen; marsh-gas; fire-damp; gas of the acetates.
1866 H. E. Roscoe Lessons Elem. Chem. ix. 82 Marsh gas may..be artificially prepared by heating sodium acetate with caustic soda.
1881 19th Cent. No. 48. 245 Light carburetted hydrogen, or marsh gas,..is the cause of explosions in collieries.
1922 J. J. Sudborough Bernthsen's Text-bk. Org. Chem. (new ed.) i. 32 Methane is exhaled from the earth's crust, as ‘fire-damp’ and as marsh-gas.
1958 I. Fleming Dr. No ix. 110 Soon, as they got away from the sea, it began to smell bad with the bad egg, sulphuretted hydrogen smell of marsh gas.
1998 L. Margulis & K. V. Schwartz Five Kingdoms (ed. 3) i. 58/1 Methanogenic bacteria are the source of ‘marsh gas’ and, indeed, of most natural gas.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1848