sulphurous
Meaning
Containing or resembling sulphur, especially in colour or smell.
(of speech, writing, or behaviour) Bitter, angry, or spiteful.
Structure
Usage
The air near the volcano was thick with a sulphurous smell.
The chemist identified the compound by its sulphurous yellow crystals.
The critic launched a sulphurous attack on the government's new policy.
Etymology
The word 'sulphurous' is built directly upon the name of the chemical element 'sulphur', which entered English from the Latin sulphur. The Latin term is of uncertain, possibly pre-Latin Mediterranean, origin. The adjectival suffix '-ous', of Latin origin, is attached to signify the possession of the qualities of sulphur. This construction follows a classic pattern in scientific and descriptive English, where a noun is transformed into an adjective meaning "related to, or resembling" the base substance. The literal meaning, "full of or containing sulphur," logically extended to describe things with sulphur's characteristic yellow colour, pungent smell, and, metaphorically, its association with hellfire and divine wrath, giving rise to the figurative sense of bitter or spiteful speech.
Analysis
- sulph: From Latin sulphur (sulphur, brimstone). The base element. - ur: A common suffix in the names of chemical elements (e.g., sulphur, phosphorus), derived from Latin. - ous: A suffix forming adjectives, from Latin -osus, meaning "full of, characterized by, having the qualities of".