ˈsʌlfə n. & v. (US sulfur) --n. 1 a a pale-yellow non-metallic
element having
crystalline and amorphous forms,
burning with a blue
flame and a suffocating
smell, and used in
making gunpowder, matches, and
sulphuric acid, in
the vulcanizing of rubber, and in the
treatment of
skin diseases. °Symb.: S. b (attrib.) like or containing sulphur. 2 the
material of
which hell-fire and
lightning were believed to
consist. 3
any yellow butterfly of the
family Pieridae. 4 a pale greenish yellow
colour. --v.tr. 1
treat with sulphur. 2
fumigate with sulphur. øsulphur
candle a candle
burnt to
produce sulphur
dioxide for fumigating. sulphur dioxide a
colourless pungent gas formed by burning sulphur in
air and used as a
food preservative. sulphur
spring a spring impregnated with sulphur or
its compounds. øøsulphury adj. [ME f. AF sulf(e)re, OF soufre f. L sulfur, sulp(h)ur]