gas
UK[ɡæs]US[ɡæs]
n
A substance like air that is neither liquid nor solid and can expand to fill any container
n
A substance in this form used as a fuel for heating or cooking
n
A substance in this form used as an anesthetic or poison
v
To poison or kill with gas
v
To talk idly or excessively
Etymology
The word 'gas' is a modern scientific invention, not derived from a compound of classical morphemes. The Flemish chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont coined the term around 1650, deliberately modeling it after the Greek word 'khaos' (χάος), which referred to the primordial, formless void in ancient cosmology. He chose this to represent his concept of a "wild spirit" or an elastic fluid distinct from air, which could not be contained in vessels. Over time, the Dutch/Latin 'gas' entered scientific vocabulary, shedding its chaotic connotations to become the precise, neutral term for the state of matter between liquid and solid, and later for specific substances like fuel or poison.
Analysis
This is a simplex word. It is a loanword from Dutch, where 'gas' was coined by the chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont in the 17th century, based on the Greek word 'khaos' (meaning 'gaping void' or 'chasm').
Examples
Oxygen and hydrogen are both gases at room temperature.
We need to stop for gas before we get on the highway.
The treaty banned the use of poison gas in warfare.