Sulphuretted

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Containing sulphur, especially in chemical combination with other elements or compounds
2. Having sulphur mixed or chemically bonded into it, as in certain gases and compounds
3. Combined with sulphur, or holding it as a component within a substance

Etymology: "Sulphuretted" is the older, British-leaning spelling of "sulfuretted", and the two forms differ only in the letter "ph" versus "f". The adjective describes something that contains sulphur, or a compound of sulphur, and the "-ed" ending marks it as a word formed on the model of verbs that were made from a noun by adding a suffix: sulphur was turned into a verb meaning to combine or treat with sulphur, and the past-tense form then came to describe the result. The root is "sulphur", which English took from Latin "sulphur" (also spelled "sulfur"), a word whose ultimate origin is uncertain. The Latin noun gave English a whole family of chemical terms, and "sulphuretted" belongs to the group that describes compounds in which sulphur has been combined with another substance. Its precise date of entry into English is not something the source records, so the chain of its formation is best read as a straightforward chemical coinage from a classical root rather than a word with a dramatic early history.

Synonyms: sulfuretted