Adjacent Words

argon definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a colorless and odorless inert gas; one of the six inert gases; comprises approximately 1% of the earth's atmosphere [syn: argon, Ar, atomic number 18]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Greek, neuter of argos idle, lazy, from a- + ergon work; from its relative inertness — more at work Date: 1894 a colorless odorless inert gaseous element found in the air and in volcanic gases and used especially in welding, lasers, and electric bulbs — see element table

Dictionary of the Elements

argon
Symbol: Ar
Atomic number: 18
Atomic weight: 39.948
Monatomic noble gas. Makes up 0.93% of the air. Colourless, odorless. Is inert and has no true compounds. Lord Rayleigh and Sir william Ramsey identified argon in 1894.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Chem. an inert gaseous element, of the noble gas group and forming almost 1% of the earth's atmosphere. Usage: Symb.: Ar. Etymology: Gk, neut. of argos idle f. a- not + ergon work

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Argon Ar"gon, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, neut. of ? inactive; ? priv. + ? work.] (Chem.) A colorless, odorless gas occurring in the air (of which it constitutes 0.93 per cent by volume), in volcanic gases, etc.; -- so named on account of its inertness by Rayleigh and Ramsay, who prepared and examined it in 1894-95. Symbol, A; at. wt., 39.9. Argon is condensible to a colorless liquid boiling at -186.1[deg] C. and to a solid melting at -189.6[deg] C. It has a characteristic spectrum. No compounds of it are known, but there is physical evidence that its molecule is monatomic. Weight of one liter at 0[deg] C. and 760 mm., 1.7828 g.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Argon Ar"gon, n. [Gr. ? inactive.] (Chem.) A substance regarded as an element, contained in the atmosphere and remarkable for its chemical inertness. --Rayleigh and Ramsay.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Argon is an inert gas which exists in very small amounts in the atmosphere. It is used in electric lights.