vitreous
/ˈvɪtriəs/ adjective, noun
Forms vitreouses
- adjective Of or resembling glass; glassy.
- adjective (anatomy) Of or relating to the vitreous humor of the eye.
- adjective (of ceramics) Having a shiny nonporous surface.
- adjective (chemistry) Of a semi-crystalline substance where the atoms exhibit short-range order, but without the long-range order of a crystal.
- adjective (geology, mineralogy) With a glass-like texture, often referring to volcanic rocks that cooled too quickly for crystals to form.
- adjective (physics, dated) Positive (of electric charge).
- noun (by elision) The vitreous humor.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle French vitreux, from Latin vitreus (“glassy, transparent”), from vitrum (“glass”).
The terms vitreous (positive) and resinous (negative) electricity were coined in 1733 by Charles François de Cisternay du Fay, who studied the different behaviour of glass and resin when rubbed with silk and fur, respectively.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Consisting of, or resembling, glass; glassy; as, vitreous rocks.
- adjective Of or pertaining to glass; derived from glass; as, vitreous electricity. Vitreous body (Anat.), the vitreous humor. See the Note under Eye.
Etymology [L. vitreous, from vitrum glass; perhaps akin to videre to see (see Vision). Cf. Varnish.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “vitreous”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details