brimstone

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English brymston, brimston, bremston, forms of brinston, brenston, bernston, from Old English brynstān (“brimstone”, literally “burn-stone”), equivalent to brian +‎ stone, or burn +‎ stone. Cognate with Scots brunstane (“brimstone”), Icelandic brennisteinn (“sulfur / sulphur, brimstone”), German Bernstein (“amber”). Compare also brimfire. More at burn, stone. Although once a synonym for sulfur, the word is now largely restricted to poetic and Biblical usage. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbɹɪmstəʊn/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈbɹɪmstoʊn/ IPA(key): (obsolete) /ˈbɹɪmstən/ === Noun === brimstone (countable and uncountable, plural brimstones) (biblical) The sulfur of hell; hell, damnation. (archaic) Sulfur. (obsolete) A whore. (archaic) Used attributively as an intensifier in exclamations. The butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni of the Pieridae family. (Internet slang) Online content of exceptionally poor quality, lower than coal. Antonym: gemerald ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Anagrams === strombine