phosphoric
/fˈɑsfɚɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.48 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pertaining to the element phosphorus; containing phosphorus, especially in its higher valency (5).
Example Sentences
- "An old man to whom a few drops of phosphoric ether had been administered experienced repeated and imperious venereal wants."
- "I refer to the light in the tail of a glow-worm […] first, that it is phosphoric; secondly, that its use is to attract the male insect."
- "[T]he gulf beneath blended in the darkness, till but one atmosphere seemed both above and below, sometimes illumined by flashes of phosphoric light—meteors that might have suited sea or sky, and, broken by two or three ridges of foam, seen in obscurity, like lines of snow."
Etymology
Etymology tree English phosphor Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English phosphoric From phosphor + -ic.
Usage
Derived Forms
Phrases
phosphoric acid
phosphoric chloride