pyrex
noun, proper noun
- noun A kind of heat-resistant borosilicate glass, made by mixing a high concentration of boron oxides into the molten glass to reduce its thermal expansion coefficient.
- noun (by extension) Any borosilicate glass.
- noun (by extension) Any glass capable of withstanding high temperatures, such as tempered glass suitable for cooking.
- proper noun A brand of glassware produced by the Corning corporation, capable of resisting high temperatures, and suitable for cooking applications, currently made with tempered glass.
- proper noun (historical) A brand of glassware produced by Corning using borosilicate glass.
Etymology
Genericized trademark from Pyrex.
From pie + r + -ex.
First manufactured by the Corning Glassware Factory in 1915.
* 1957, Letter from the Corning Glassware Factory:
*: "We had a number of prior trademarks ending in the letters ex. One of the first commercial products to be sold under the new mark was a pie plate, and in the interests of euphonism the letter "r" was inserted between pie and ex, and the whole thing condensed to pyrex."
* By surface analysis, the name also suggests pyr- (“fire”) + rex (“king”), thus connoting superior performance at high temperatures; in this regard, compare also the name of a major competing brand, Fire-King.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “pyrex”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details