Meanings
plural empyreumas · plural empyreumata
- obsoletechemistryThe particular smell and taste arising from products of decomposition of animal or vegetable substances when burnt in sealed containers.
If the Liquor retain a certain Empyreuma, or smatch of the fire, thou shalt help it by putting it into a glasse close stopt, and so exposing it to the heat of the sun, and now and then opening the glasse that the fiery impression may exhale, or else let the glasse stand in a cold moist place.
1651, John French, Art of Distillation
Origin
- Ancient Greekἐμπύρευμα“a live coal covered with ashes”
- Englishempyreuma
From Ancient Greek ἐμπύρευμα (empúreuma, “a live coal covered with ashes”). Compare French empyreume. See empyreal.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
empyreuma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empyreuma
“empyreuma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empyreuma. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “empyreuma,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empyreuma.
Source: empyreuma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.