oxygen

Meaning

Noun

• The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas.
• Molecular oxygen (O₂), a colorless, odorless gas at room temperature, also called dioxygen.
• A mixture of oxygen and other gases, administered to a patient to help them breathe.
• An atom of this element.
• A condition or environment in which something can thrive.

Related

Similar words

• sourstuff
• E948 when used as a packaging gas

Origin

• Borrowed from French oxygène (originally in the form principe oxygène, a variant of principe oxigine ‘acidifying principle’, suggested by Lavoisier), from Ancient Greek ὀξύς + γένος, referring to oxygen's supposed role in the formation of acids.