sulphur

== English == === Noun === sulphur (countable and uncountable, plural sulphurs) (Commonwealth) Alternative spelling of sulfur. ==== Derived terms ==== === Verb === sulphur (third-person singular simple present sulphurs, present participle sulphuring, simple past and past participle sulphured) (Commonwealth) Alternative spelling of sulfur. ==== Usage notes ==== This is the traditional popular spelling in the UK, India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. However, it is considered non-standard in scientific contexts, as the IUPAC has only approved the spelling sulfur. ==== References ==== === Anagrams === uphurls == Latin == === Alternative forms === sulpur (archaic) sulfur (late-Classical) === Etymology === Hellenised variant of earlier sulpur. Etymology uncertain, but likely related to Proto-Germanic *sweblaz (“sulfur”). The *sw- in the Germanic term suggests a root *swelp-, which could have arisen as a blend of *selp- (“fat, oil”) and *swel- (“to burn”) or alternatively, be a non-Indo-European Wanderwort. If the comparison with *sweblaz is set aside, the Latin form can simply be derived from the root *selp-, making it cognate to Proto-Germanic *salbō (“salve, ointment”), Sanskrit सर्पिस् (sarpís, “cleaned melted butter”), सृप्र (sṛprá, “greasy, smooth”), Tocharian B ṣalype (“ointment”), and perhaps Ancient Greek ἔλπος (élpos, “?olive oil, fat”) or ὄλπη (ólpē, “flask for oil”). Per De Vaan, Szemerényi reconstructed an s-stem Proto-Indo-European *sélpos. (For the analogical change of the ending to -ur, compare fulgur; for the phonetic change of *-ol- > -ul-, compare sulcus, and for *-el- > *-ol- > -ul-, compare pulpa.) However, De Vaan finds both the -él- > -ól- and -os > -ur changes to be irregular, and suggests the word alternatively comes from Proto-Italic *solpor, from an r/n-stem Proto-Indo-European *sólpr̥ instead. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈsʊɫ.pʰʊr] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈsul.fur] === Noun === sulphur n (genitive sulphuris); third declension sulfur, brimstone lightning ==== Declension ==== Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem). ==== Descendants ==== === References === === Further reading === “sulphur”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “sulphur”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers == Middle English == === Alternative forms === sulphre, sulphure, sulphour, sulpher, sulpur, sulfur, sulfurre, sulfer, soulphre, soulfre, solfre, soufur, soufre === Etymology === From Anglo-Norman sulfre, from Latin sulfur. === Noun === sulphur (plural sulphurs) sulfur ==== Descendants ==== English: sulphur, sulfur === References === “sulphur, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.