phlogiston
/flɒˈdʒɪstɒn/noun
mass noun
- a substance supposed by 18th-century chemists to exist in all combustible bodies, and to be released in combustion（18世纪化学家认为存在于所有可燃物中且燃烧时会释放的）燃素。
词源
mid 18th cent.: modern Latin, from Greek phlogizein 'set on fire', from phlox, phlog- 'flame', from the base of phlegein 'to burn'.