phosphorous

English

Etymology

From phosphorus +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: phosphorus

Adjective

phosphorous (not comparable)

1. (chemistry) Of or pertaining to phosphorus.
2. Resembling phosphorus.
3. (chemistry) Of, relating to, or containing trivalent phosphorus.

Usage notes

• Do not confuse phosphorous with phosphorus, which is the noun.

Synonyms

• (of or pertaining to phosphorus): phosphoric
• (resembling phosphorus): phosphoric

Derived terms

Derived terms

• hypophosphorous acid
• phosphorous acid
• phosphorous anhydride
• phosphorous chloride

Related terms

• phosphoric
• phosphorus

Translations

of or pertaining to phosphorus

• Bulgarian: фосфорен (fosforen)
• Catalan: fosforós m
• Danish: fosforholdig
• French: phosphoreux (fr), phosphorique (fr), phosphorescent (fr) m, phosphorescente (fr) f
• Portuguese: fosforoso m

resembling phosphorus

• Danish: fosforlignende
• French: phosphoreux (fr), phosphorique (fr), phosphorescent (fr) m, phosphorescente (fr) f

of, relating to or containing trivalent phosphorus

• Bulgarian: съдържащ тривалентен фосфор (sǎdǎržašt trivalenten fosfor)
• Danish: fosforsyrlig
• Dutch: fosforig
• French: phosphoreux (fr), phosphorique (fr), phosphorescent (fr) m, phosphorescente (fr) f
• Italian: fosforoso (it) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} phosphorique (fr)

See also

• phosphoric

Noun

phosphorous (uncountable)

1. (proscribed) Misspelling of phosphorus.
   • 1991 April 6, Steve Rose, “A Human Drama”, in Gay Community News, page 5:

     As a former civilian resident of west Beirut, bombed with American-made phosphorous and cluster bombs by the Israelis, I am outraged by this.