Ash

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /æʃ/

Definitions

1. The powdery gray or black residue that remains after something has been burned completely
2. The lightweight gray or black powdery substance resulting from the incineration of organic matter can be utilized in various applications
3. The dry, powdery substance left when material is fully consumed by fire ; a deciduous tree genus with compound leaves and hard wood commonly found in temperate regions ; fine particles from burned substances used as fertilizer or in industrial processes

Etymology: Old English "æsce" (also spelled "æsċe") named the tree and its wood, and the powder left after a fire took the same name. The tree's connection to fire is an ancient one, and the word's ancestry runs back to Proto-Germanic "askō", which also gave Dutch "as", German "Asche", Swedish "aska" and Gothic "azgō", meaning "ash; cinder". So the ash of a fire and the ash tree share a single root in the Germanic languages. The most surprising link lies outside the Germanic family. Scholars have proposed a connection with Greek "astéras" and "ástro", meaning "star", and with Latin "āreō", meaning "to be dry or parched". Such a link would be a very old one, and the evidence is uncertain, so it is best read as a possibility rather than a settled fact.

Synonyms: cinders, residue, powder

Antonyms: fuel, wood