inflammable air

English

Noun

inflammable air (uncountable)

1. (chemistry, now historical) Hydrogen.
   • 1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 11:

     Mr. Cavendish has shewn, that the gas called inflammable air, is at least ten times lighter than common air; Mr. Lavoisier contends, that it is one of the component parts of water, and is by him called hydrogene.

References

• Glossary of Archaic Chemical Terms