sulfur match
sulfur match noun: a kind of taper or miniature torch produced by splintering tar barrels, immersing the slips into sulfur, and applying them to a flame.
Noun
sulfur match (plural sulfur matches)
- A kind of taper or miniature torch produced by splintering tar barrels, immersing the slips into sulfur, and applying them to a flame.
- ... the old sulphur match was intended, not to produce fire, but to convey fire from the tinder to the candle. Sulphur matches were usually made by splitting thin slips off the edge of resinous pinewood or other light, inflammable wood, sharpening roughly each end, and dipping into melted sulphur.1907 November, Elliot Stock & al., "Notes of the Month“, The Antiquary, Vol. XLIII (OS) or III (NS), No. 11, p. 411
- Synonyms:
- tar-barrel match, spunk
- A match activated by a sulfuric reaction, formerly by immersion of various chemicals in sulfuric acid and now more usually by friction and some amount of phosphorus.
- Synonyms:
- brimstone match
Synonyms of sulfur match
- tar-barrel match
- spunk
- brimstone match
Forms of sulfur match
| plural | sulfur matches |
|---|---|
| alternative form | sulphur match |
Questions about sulfur match
- What does sulfur match mean?
- Sulfur match means a kind of taper or miniature torch produced by splintering tar barrels, immersing the slips into sulfur, and applying them to a flame.
- What part of speech is sulfur match?
- Sulfur match is a noun.
- What is the plural of sulfur match?
- The plural of sulfur match is sulfur matches.
Words near sulfur match in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sulfur match (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “sulfur match.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sulfur_match. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.