Webster's 1828 Dictionary
PYROPHOROUS
a.Pertaining to or resembling pyrophorus.
PYROPHORUS
n.[Gr. , fire; bearing. ] A substance which takes fire on exposure to air, or which maintains or retains light.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
PYROPHORIC; PYROPHOROUS
Pyr `o *phor "ic, Py *roph "o *rous, a. Etym: [Pyro- + Gr.
Defn: Light-producing; of or pertaining to pyrophorus. Pyrophoric iron (Chem. ), finely reduced iron, which ignites spontaneously on contact with air.
PYROPHORUS
Py *roph "o *rus, n. Etym: [NL. See Pyrophorous. ] (Old Chem. )
Defn: Any one of several substances or mixtures which phosphoresce or ignite spontaneously on exposure to air, as a heated mixture of alum, potash, and charcoal, or a mixture of charcoal and finely divided lead.
New American Oxford Dictionary
pyrophoric
py ro phor ic |ˌpīrəˈfôrik ˌpaɪroʊˈfɔrɪk | ▶adjective liable to ignite spontaneously on exposure to air. • (of an alloy ) emitting sparks when scratched or struck. ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from modern Latin pyrophorus, from Greek purophoros ‘fire-bearing, ’ from pur ‘fire ’ + pherein ‘to bear. ’
Oxford Dictionary
pyrophoric
pyrophoric |ˌpʌɪrə (ʊ )ˈfɒrɪk | ▶adjective liable to ignite spontaneously on exposure to air. • (of an alloy ) emitting sparks when scratched or struck. ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from modern Latin pyrophorus, from Greek purophoros ‘fire-bearing ’, from pur ‘fire ’ + pherein ‘to bear ’.
Duden Dictionary
pyrophor
py ro phor Adjektiv Chemie |pyroph o r |zu griechisch phoreĩn = (in sich ) tragen [in feinster Verteilung ] sich an der Luft bei gewöhnlicher Temperatur selbst entzündend
Pyrophor
Py ro phor Substantiv, maskulin , der |Pyroph o r |Stoff mit pyrophoren Eigenschaften z. B. Phosphor, Eisen, Blei
The Wordsmith Dictionary