Hittorf's phosphorus

noun

A purple crystalline allotrope of phosphorus.

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Meanings

nounHittorf's phosphorus (uncountable)
  1. uncountablechemistryA purple crystalline allotrope of phosphorus.

Origin

Named after Johann Wilhelm Hittorf (1824-1914) who first produced it in 1865. (Reference: John Emsley, The Shocking History of Phosphorus, 2000, →ISBN, page 304.)

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Cite this entry
APA

Hittorf's phosphorus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hittorf's%20phosphorus

MLA

“Hittorf's phosphorus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hittorf's%20phosphorus. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hittorf's phosphorus,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hittorf's%20phosphorus.

Source: Hittorf's phosphorus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.