phosphorusn.
/ˈfɒsf(ə)rəs/, U.S. /ˈfɑsf(ə)rəs/ 1. In form Phosphorus. The morning star (the planet Venus appearing in the sky before sunrise); = Lucifer n. 1. Cf. phosphor n. 1. Also figurative. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > inferior planet > [noun] > Venus > as morning star
morn-starOE
day starOE
Luciferc1050
morrow starc1350
morning star1535
phosphorus1595
phosphor1606
morning planet1667
1595 R. Parry Moderatus iv. 35 When Phosphorus declining West her tracke, Commaunding Nox her charge to take in hand.
1607 Trag. Claudius Tiberius Nero sig. Gv Then see these Phosphori be made away, That dimme the glorie of our happie day.
1611 T. Coryate Crambe sig. A2 Most scintillant Phosphorus of our British Trinacria.
1694 W. Congreve Double-dealer ii. i. 15 He wants nothing, but a Blue Ribbon and a Star, to make him Shine, the very Phosphorus of our Hemisphere.
1715 M. Davies Εἰκων Μικρο-βιβλικὴ 39 Throughout the whole Protestant Reformation, whereof he [sc. Erasmus] was the brightest Phosphoros.
1827 J. C. Price Climax of Iniquity ii. 51 Whilst Justice did their foxfire lamps oppugn, And made them dim as Phosphorus at noon.
1932 T. Heath tr. Geminus in Greek Astron. 130 Next lower than..[the sun] lies ‘Phosphorus’ (Lucifer), the star of Aphrodite, and this moves at approximately the same speed as the sun.
1998 Mod. Astronomer Mar. 35/2 Venus reappears as Phosphorus, the Morning Star in February, leaping up into the morning twilight almost as quickly as it fell into the evening light!
2.
a. A substance or organism that emits light spontaneously or after heating or other treatment; esp. (in later use) a phosphorescent substance. In later use historical and literary.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > light emitted under particular conditions > [noun] > phosphorescence > phosphorescent substance or organism
phosphorus1680
phosphorescent1789
the world > matter > light > light emitted under particular conditions > [noun] > phosphorescence > phosphorescent substance or organism > phosphorus
phosphorus1680
phosphor1706
shell-fire1770
phos1811
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > intensity of light, luminosity > [noun] > phosphorescence > substance exhibiting
phosphorus1680
phosphorescent1789
phosphor1910
1680 R. Boyle App. Aerial Noctiluca in Wks. (1772) IV. 380 Phosphoruses may well be distinguished into two sorts; those that may be stiled natural, as glow-worms, some sorts of rotten wood and fishes..and those that are properly artificial.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Natural Phosphori are Matters which become luminous at certain Times.
1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. IV. 220 A kind of amethysts, which may be used as a phosphorus, if laid on a hot stove: and I do not question, but that, with a suitable process, a sort of Bononian stone may be made of them.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. II. xxi. 441 Phosphori..may be considered as bodies giving light; though more properly they are those bodies which give a faint light, visible only in the dark.
1806 W. Henry Epitome Chem. (ed. 4) i. iv. 49 Bodies, gifted with this property [of absorbing the rays of light in their totality], are called Solar Phosphori.
1835 D. P. Thompson May Martin ix. 140 Have you your disguise ready—the phosphorus for the eyes and mouth of your mask?
1898 W. Crookes Addr. Brit. Assoc. 23 The best known phosphori belong to certain well-defined classes, such as the sulphides of the alkaline-earthy metals, and some of the so-called rare earths.
1962 S. Plath Coll. Poems 209 There is only the moon, embalmed in phosphorus.
1998 B. Bainbridge Master Georgie (1999) iii. 106 The keel of our ship trailing a dancing path of phosphorus light along the waters of the Bosphorus.
b. Preceded by distinguishing words: a particular phosphorescent substance. See also Bologna phosphorus n. at Bologna n. Compounds, mercurial phosphorus n. at mercurial n. and adj. Compounds. Now historical.
(a)† Baldwin's phosphorus n. [ < the genitive of the name of Christian Adolph Baldwin (1632–82), German chemist who discovered its phosphorescence + phosphorus n.; compare post-classical Latin phosphorus Balduini (1710; earlier as phosphorus hermeticus Clarissimi Christiani Adolphi Balduini in a work title (1675))] Obsolete calcium nitrate that has been strongly heated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > salts > [noun] > salts named by atomic number > nitrates or nitrites > other named nitrates or nitrites
Baldwin's phosphorusa1703
oxynitrate1809
trisnitrate1836
hyponitrite1846
trinitrate1868
a1703 R. Hooke Lect. Light in Posthumous Wks. (1705) 142 In the same manner as..the well prepared Bononian or Baldwin Phosphorus..shew their Natures, when..acted upon by Light.
1755 A. Berthelson tr. E. Pontoppidan Nat. Hist. Norway i. iii. 74 Hierne..judges this sea-light to be a kind of phosphorus..as is the case in the Lapis Bononiensis, and Baldwin's phosphorus.
1845 T. Dick Pract. Astronomer 17/2 in Compl. Wks. (1856) II. In the year 1677, Baldwin, a native of Misnia, observed that chalk, dissolved in aquafortis, exactly resembled the Bolognian stone in its property of imbibing light,..and hence it has obtained the name of Baldwin's phosphorus.
(b) Homberg's phosphorus n. [ < the genitive of the name of Wilhelm Homberg (1652–1715), German chemist, who discovered its phosphorescence in 1693 + phosphorus n.; compare scientific Latin phosphorus Hombergii (1741)] fused calcium chloride.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > calcium > [noun] > compounds
limea1000
Homberg's phosphorus1731
1731 H. Pemberton Scheme for Course Chym. 9 The use of alum in dying. Homberg's phosphorus made.
1988 Osiris 2nd Ser. 4 69 He [sc. Didericus de Smeth] described experiments on the combustion of Homberg's phosphorus.
(c) Canton's phosphorus n. [ < the genitive of the name of John Canton (1718–72), English physicist, who prepared it in 1768 by igniting oyster shells with sulphur + phosphorus n.] calcined calcium sulphide.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > sulphur > [noun] > compounds > sulphides > miscellaneous others
Canton's phosphorus1787
subsulphide1846
hydrogen sulphide1849
polysulphide1849
trisulphide1866
1777 J. Priestley Exper. & Observ. Air III. xxviii. 287 I imagined that I had produced a kind of air in a small degree like this, from Mr. Canton's phosphorus.]
1787 G. Adams Ess. Electr. (ed. 3) xvi. 336 Take some of the powder of Canton's phosphorus, and..stick it all over the inside of a clean glass phial.
1877 Harper's Mag. June 103/1 Still known as Canton's phosphorus, it is easily made by burning oyster shells in an open fire until they have become white.
1934 Isis 21 82 Canton's phosphorus, the making of artificial magnets,..and his experiments on the compressibility of water are among the notable contributions which Canton made to the Science of his day.
(d)† Montalbano's phosphorus n. [ < the genitive of the name of Marco Antonio della Frata et Montalbano (fl. 1678), Italian chemist + phosphorus n.] Obsolete rare = Bologna phosphorus n. at Bologna n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > light emitted under particular conditions > [noun] > phosphorescence > phosphorescent substance or organism > Bologna spar
Bolognian stone1674
Bologna phosphorus1875
Bologna spar1875
Montalbano's phosphorus1906
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 423 Dr. Montalbano,..he who invented or found out the famous composition of the Lapis illuminabili<s> or Phosphorus, which he shew'd me, their property..being to retaine the light of the sun for some competent time, by a kind of imbibition, by a particular way of Calcination.]
1906 N.E.D. at Phosphorus Montalbano's phosphorus.
3. Chemistry. A non-metallic chemical element, atomic number 15, which is widespread (chiefly in the form of phosphates) in living organisms and in minerals, and in its commonest form is a whitish waxy solid which undergoes spontaneous oxidation (with chemiluminescence) or ignition in air. Symbol P.Originally regarded only as a particular example of a phosphorescent substance or phosphorus (sense 2), and sometimes designated Kunckel's phosphorus [ < the genitive of the name of Johannes Kunckel (1638–1703), German chemist + phosphorus n.] red, white, yellow phosphorus: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > phosphorus > [noun]
phosphorus1680
P1814
phosphor1873
1680 R. Boyle App. Aerial Noctiluca in Wks. (1772) IV. 381 This substance [shown by Mr. Daniel Kraft, a German chemist]..was at least as yielding as bees-wax in summer... On the score of its uninterrupted action, it is called by some in Germany, the constant noctiluca; which title it does not ill deserve, since this phosphorus is much the noblest we have yet seen.
1685 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 491 Divers Corruscations..mingled with the liquor... This matter of Phosphorus, was made out of human blood & Urine, elucidating the Vital flame or heate in Animal bodys.
1758 A. Reid tr. P. J. Macquer Elements Theory & Pract. Chym. I. 34 From the Marine Acid combined with a Phlogiston results a kind of Sulphur..that..takes fire of itself upon being exposed to the open air. This combination is called English Phosphorus, Phosphorus of Urine, because it is generally prepared from urine, or, only Phosphorus.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VIII. 175 In the dark they send forth a kind of shining light resembling that of phosphorus.
1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 173 Sulphur and phosphorus merely attract oxygen; they form in this combination peculiar acids, and thereby disengage..heat and light which appear in the form of flame.
1816 H. Davy in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 106 3 I tried Kunckel's, Canton's, and Baldwin's phosphorus, and likewise the electrical light in close vessels, but without success.
1864 A. Bain Senses & Intellect (ed. 2) Introd. ii. 12 Phosphorus abounds more in the brain than in any other tissue.
1878 J. S. Bristowe Treat. Theory & Pract. Med. (ed. 2) 529 Fatty degeneration..is sometimes observed..in poisoning by phosphorus.
1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 46/2 It [sc. bran] contains a large percentage of iron and phosphorus.
1992 D. J. Mabberley Trop. Rain Forest Ecol. (ed. 2) 239 When forest is cut in Amazonia, cations from the burn de-acidify the soil, releasing phosphorus from iron and aluminium compounds.
2000 N.Y. Times Mag. 26 Nov. 109/2 Armor piercing incendiary [rounds]..are tipped with phosphorus that explodes on impact and burns at 3,000 degrees.
Compounds
(In sense 3.) C1. † phosphorus cachexia n. Obsolete† phosphorus liver n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 930 So long as profound phosphorus cachexia remains.
phosphorus-containing adj.
ΚΠ
1896 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. I. 165 Certain phosphorus-containing substances in the body.
1992 S. Rose Making of Memory 41 The ATP in its turn was used to synthesize a special class of phosphorus-containing proteins, phosphoproteins, present in very large amounts in the brain.
ΚΠ
1897 J. Cagney tr. R. von Jaksch Clin. Diagnosis (ed. 3) vii. 388 The typical phosphorus-liver leads to alimentary glycosuria.
phosphorus match n.
ΚΠ
1799 Lounger's Common-place Bk. IV. 45/1 The Popish recusant perhaps might have performed the task assigned to him, with greater ease, had he been furnished with phosphorus matches.
1838 E. A. Poe Narr. Arthur Gordon Pym ii. 23 He next lit a small taper by means of a phosphorus match, and..descended with it through the opening, bidding me follow.
1949 T. B. Jones S. Amer. Rediscovered 246 Expilly was a maker of phosphorus matches, whose book, according to Burton, should have been Le Brésil tel qu'il n'est pas.
phosphorus poison n.
ΚΠ
1862 C. L. Bloxam Bowman's Pract. Handbk. Med. Chem. (ed. 4) v. xvi. 282 A phosphorus poison for vermin is now in very common use.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 24 Mar. 9/2 Death was due to phosphorus poison.
2002 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 3 Jan. 15 a The Everglades once was a ‘river of grass’. Now..it is a tepid bath of cattails courtesy of the phosphorus poisons from fertilizers.
phosphorus poisoning n.
ΚΠ
1873 A. R. Thomas Pract. Guide Post-Mortem Examinations 84 Exhausting diseases of various kinds, typhus and other severe fevers, phosphorus poisoning, etc., may result in this peculiar condition of the heart.
1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) iii. 34 This change is seen in diphtheria, sometimes in staphylococcal infections, in severe diseases of the blood, and in phosphorus poisoning.
1990 Gen. Pharmacol. 21 899 Thirty patients with acute phosphorus poisoning..were chosen from the poison control centre, Cairo.
C2.
phosphorus bomb n. an incendiary bomb containing phosphorus.
ΚΠ
1920 Jrnl. Industr. & Engin. Chem. 13 1083/2 Gas and phosphorus bombs were used in the recent airplane attacks on the old battleship Alabama.
1952 B. Marshall White Rabbit iii. 13 Cruelty at a remove is..still cruelty, even if the flight lieutenant who lets the phosphorus bomb drop doesn't see the baby catch fire.
2000 Nature 4 May 16/1 The phosphorus bombs dumped in the ocean at the end of the war wash up on beaches 50 years later.
phosphorus bottle n. (a) a bottle containing phosphorus for lighting sulphur matches (now historical and rare); †(b) = phosphorus lamp n. (obsolete).
ΚΠ
1795 Whole Proc. King's Comm. Peace (City of London & County of Middlesex) 247/2 This phosphorus bottle was found in Williams's pocket.
1813 I. Pocock Miller & his Men ii. iii. 37 Lothair points to the Magazine; shews the train to Ravina, and explains his intention; then gives a phosphorus bottle which he shews the purpose of.
1890 Cent. Dict. at Phosphorus Phosphorus bottle, a small bottle containing 12 grains of phosphorus melted in half an ounce of olive-oil. On being uncorked in the dark this solution emits light enough to illuminate the dial of a watch.
2003 Re: Interesting Facts in rec.puzzles (Usenet newsgroup) 30 Jan. Lighter: 1810 ‘Phosphorus Bottle’, invented by Cagniard de Latour.
phosphorus box n. now historical a box containing matches tipped with potassium chlorate, together with phosphorus into which the matches were dipped before striking them.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > material for igniting > [noun] > container or holder for tinder or matches
tinder-box1530
firebox1555
tinder1570
linstock1575
funk horn1673
spunk-box1721
phosphorus box1792
light box1816
spunk-flask1835
match-bottle1839
matchbox1853
match-pot1856
match-safe1860
punk-box1862
match-stand1873
match holder1884
book1899
safety box1902
matchbook1937
1792 Trials at Large Capital & Other Convicts Old Bailey No. 3. i. 125/2 I saw Nelson have something in his hand, and it dropped on the floor (produces a phosphorus box).
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 337/1 When I was about 16 I joined in partnership with a man who used to make phosphorus boxes.
1956 Notes & Rec. Royal Soc. 12 136 The ‘Phosphorus Box’, a small so-called ‘tin box’, contained a bottle coated internally with phosphorus.
phosphorus lamp n. now rare a bottle containing a small quantity of phosphorus dissolved in olive oil, which emits a faint light when opened.
ΚΠ
1876 E. Sargent Proof Palpable of Immortality 101 Turning the gas out, he entered the room used as a cabinet, bearing a phosphorus lamp.
1884 Manufacturer & Builder Sept. 216/3 How is the phosphorus lamp made, that burns without flame?
2002 BusinessWorld (Nexis) 11 Oct. 35 The film..starts off promisingly enough, with oil flowing ominously down carved channels, and a thousand phosphorus lamps sparking up suddenly.
phosphorus necrosis n. Medicine (now historical) = phossy jaw n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders caused by poisons > [noun] > by phosphorus
phosphorus necrosis1869
phossy jaw1889
phosphorism1890
phos1892
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > [noun] > alteration of tissue > necrosis > types of
fever sore1731
white gangrene1753
hospital ulcer1799
hospital gangrene1813
mildew-mortification1817
caseation1868
phosphorus necrosis1869
gaseous gangrene1882
coagulation necrosis1883
phossy jaw1889
phos1892
gas gangrene1896
1869 Lancet 3 July 17/1 Mr. Curling [has given] a specimen of phosphorus-necrosis of the jaw.
1898 Westm. Gaz. 3 June 4/3 Forty-seven cases of phosphorus necrosis have developed among our workpeople.
1934 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. 97 209 The old scourges of lead poisoning, phosphorus necrosis and anthrax, have largely been overcome.
1983 Jrnl. Oral Med. 38 175/1 This sequestrated bone had a worm-eaten and porous brown pumice stone appearance, typical of phosphorus necrosis.
phosphorus oxychloride n. Chemistry a colourless liquid, POCl3, which reacts slowly with water to give phosphoric acid.
ΚΠ
1868 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 158 3 The so-called terchloride of vanadium..contains oxygen; it..corresponds to POCl3, phosphorus oxychloride.
1906 H. J. H. Fenton Notes Qualitative Anal. (new ed.) 125 ‘Methyl-furil’..when mixed with solid urea and a few drops of phosphorus oxychloride..gives an intense and brilliant blue colour.
1995 Economist 25 Mar. 133/2 Production and traffic in potential input chemicals such as..phosphorus trichloride and phosphorus oxychloride..will be monitored.
phosphorus paste n. a paste containing phosphorus, formerly used to kill vermin.
ΚΠ
1853 A. Ure Dict. Arts, Manufactures, & Mines 379 Phosphorus paste for the destruction of rats and mice.
1920 Amer. Midland Naturalist 6 117 Phosphorus paste, which may be purchased at drug stores is claimed to be satisfactory.
2002 Santa Fe New Mexican (Nexis) 16 June i-16 When they took phosphorus paste, A-dust and 1080 away from us, the pest-control industry pitched a fit and claimed that rats would take over the country.
phosphorus pentachloride n. Chemistry phosphorus( v) chloride, PCl5, a yellowish-white solid used as a chlorinating agent in organic chemistry.
ΚΠ
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 235 Phosphorus Pentachloride or Phosphoric Chloride is formed when phosphorus is burned in excess of chlorine.
1955 B. C. L. Kemp Elem. Org. Chem. (new ed.) xxi. 284 Sulphonic acids yield acid chlorides (sulphonyl chlorides) with phosphorus pentachloride.
1988 F. A. Cotton & G. Wilkinson Adv. Inorg. Chem. (ed. 5) xi. 395 Phosphorus pentachloride is molecular in the gas and liquid phases.
phosphorus pentoxide n. Chemistry phosphorus( v) oxide, P4O10 (originally assigned the formula P2O5), a white deliquescent solid formed when phosphorus burns in air, used as a dehydrating agent.
ΚΠ
1867 Proc. Royal Soc. 16 223 Phosphorus pentoxide used in the last drying-tube was found invariably to be carried over into the boat containing the substance.
1963 Times 6 Nov. 19/1 Substantially more phosphorus pentoxide was used in compound fertilizers, consumption of which was high.
1999 Engineering Nov. 42/1 When burnt in the engine, the product leaves a residue of phosphorus pentoxide, which acts as a lubricant for the valves, guides and seats.
phosphorus trichloride n. Chemistry phosphorus ( iii) chloride, PCl3, a colourless fuming liquid used in the manufacture of organophosphorus compounds.
ΚΠ
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 235 Phosphorus trichloride or phosphorous chloride..is prepared in the same manner as sulphur bichloride.
1938 R. Hum Chem. for Engin. Students xi. 255 Phosphorus trichloride is a liquid which fumes in moist air and is decomposed by water.
2001 Times 30 Nov. 14/7 Sarin..is relatively simple to make, requiring four basic components—alcohol, dimethyl methylphosphate, phosphorus trichloride and sodium fluoride.
phosphorus trihydride n. Chemistry (now rare) = phosphine n. 1.
ΚΠ
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 233 Phosphorus Trihydride..is analogous in some of its chemical relations to ammoniacal gas.
1921 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 43 405 The dissociation of phosphorus trihydride at temperatures above 920°Å.
1995 Lancet 22 Apr. 1044 Organophosphates generating lighter phosphine (phosphorus trihydride) are still in use in some coverings and fillings.
phosphorus trioxide n. Chemistry phosphorus( iii) oxide, P4O6 (originally assigned the formula P2O3), a white, waxy solid formed when phosphorus burns in a restricted amount of air.
ΚΠ
1868 H. B. Jones & H. Watts Fownes's Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 10) 231 Phosphorus trioxide or phosphorous oxide.
1938 R. Hum Chem. for Engin. Students xxiv. 668 Phosphorous Acid..may be obtained by the action of water upon phosphorus trioxide.
2001 Scotsman (Nexis) 6 Aug. 12 In the pure state phosphorus trioxide does not phosphoresce.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1595