phosphor

[ fos-fer, -fawr ]

noun

any of a number of substances that exhibit luminescence when struck by light of certain wavelengths, as by ultraviolet.
Literary. a phosphorescent substance.

adjective

Archaic. phosphorescent.

Origin of phosphor

1625–35; <French phosphore<Latin PhōsphorusPhosphor

Words Nearby phosphor

Other definitions for Phosphor (2 of 3)

Phosphor

[ fos-fer, -fawr ]

noun

the morning star, especially Venus.

Origin of Phosphor

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin Phōsphorus, from Greek Phōsphóros “the morning star,” literally, “the light-bringing one,” equivalent to phôs “light” + -phoros “bringing”; see -phorous

Also Phos·phore [fos-fawr, -fohr], /ˈfɒs fɔr, -foʊr/, Phos·pho·rus [fos-fer-uhs] /ˈfɒs fər əs/ .

Other definitions for phosphor- (3 of 3)

phosphor-

variant of phosphoro- before a vowel: phosphorate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use phosphor in a sentence

How, at so late an hour, this had been effected, I knew no more than where my horse phosphor came from.
The Sorrows of Satan | Marie Corelli
Phosphoresc′ent, shining in the dark like phosphorus; phosphor′ic, Phos′phorous, pertaining to or obtained from phosphorus.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) | Various
A wheezing chuckle answered him, and a phosphor bulb glowed weakly, shedding some light on a filthy hall.
Police Your Planet | Lester del Rey
At the front of each building, a dim phosphor bulb glowed; when darkness fell, they would have nothing else to see by.
Police Your Planet | Lester del Rey
Pelton wheel made of a solid steel disk with phosphor bronze buckets riveted to the rim.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 1 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for phosphor

phosphor

/ (ˈfɒsfə) /

noun

a substance, such as the coating on a cathode-ray tube, capable of emitting light when irradiated with particles or electromagnetic radiation

Origin of phosphor

C17: from French, ultimately from Greek phōsphoros phosphorus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for phosphor

phosphor

[ fŏs′fər ]

Any of various substances that can emit light after absorbing some form of radiation. Television screens and fluorescent lamp tubes are coated on the inside with phosphors. See Note at cathode-ray tube.

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