napalm

- 5 dictionary results

na⋅palm

[ney-pahm]

–noun

1.	a highly incendiary jellylike substance used in fire bombs, flamethrowers, etc.

–verb (used with object)

2.	to drop bombs containing napalm on (troops, a city, or the like).

Origin:
1940–45, Americanism; na(phthene) + palm(itate)

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To napalm

na·palm (nā'päm')

1. An aluminum soap of various fatty acids that when mixed with gasoline makes a firm jelly used in some bombs and in flamethrowers.
2. This jelly.
An incendiary mixture of polystyrene, benzene, and gasoline.

[na(phthenate), salt of naphthenic acid (from naphthene) + palm(itate).]
na'palm' v.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

napalm

1942, from na(phthenic) palm(itic) acids, used in manufacture of the chemical that thickens gasoline. The verb is 1950, from the noun.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary

napalm (nā'päm') Pronunciation Key
A firm jelly made by mixing gasoline with aluminum salts (made of fatty acids). It is used in some bombs and in flamethrowers. Napalm was developed during World War II.

Abbreviations & Acronyms

napalm
naphthene + palmitate

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