vitreous

Meanings

Adjective

• Of or resembling glass; glassy.
• Of or relating to the vitreous humor of the eye.
• Having a shiny nonporous surface.
• Of a semi-crystalline substance where the atoms exhibit short-range order, but without the long-range order of a crystal.
• Positive (of electric charge).

Noun

• The vitreous humor.

Related

Opposite words

• resinous

Origin

• From Middle French vitreux, from Latin vitreus, from vitrum.
• The terms vitreous (positive) and resinous (negative) electricity were coined in 1733 by Charles François de Cisternay du Fay, who studied the different behaviour of glass and resin when rubbed with silk and fur, respectively.