Meanings
phosphorus1
plural phosphoruses · plural phosphori
- countableuncountablechemistryA chemical element (symbol P) with an atomic number of 15, that exists in several allotropic forms.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:phosphorus.
- countablechemistryAn atom of this element.
- countableobsoleteuncountableAny substance exhibiting phosphorescence; a phosphor.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:phosphorus.
Phosphorus2
alternative Phosphor
- A name sometimes used for Hesperus, the personification in Greek mythology of the planet Venus.
Synonyms: Hesperus
- An Ancient Greek name for the morning star (the planet Venus when it is visible in the eastern sky before sunrise).
Near-synonyms: evening star, evenstar, Hesperus, Vesper, Venus
Synonyms: morning star, Eosphorus, Lucifer, evening star, evenstar, Hesperus, Vesper, Venus
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA name sometimes used for Hesperus, the personification in Greek mythology of the planet Venus.
proper nounAn Ancient Greek name for the morning star (the planet Venus when it is visible in the eastern sky before sunrise).
More synonyms by meaning
nouna planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky
nouna multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
phosphorus · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂os
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰáwos
- Ancient Greekφᾰ́ος (phắos)
- Ancient Greekφῶς (phôs)
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰer-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰéreti
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰérō
- Ancient Greekφέρω (phérō)
- Ancient Greekφωσφόρος (phōsphóros)
- Latinphōsphorus
- Englishphosphorus
Borrowed from Latin phōsphorus, from Ancient Greek φωσφόρος (phōsphóros, “the bearer of light”), from φῶς (phôs, “light”) + φέρω (phérō, “to bear, carry”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Phosphorus · proper noun
- Ancient GreekΦωσφόρος“the bearer of light”
- EnglishPhosphorus
From Latinised Greek Phosphorus, from Ancient Greek Φωσφόρος (Phōsphóros, “the bearer of light”), from φῶς (phôs, “light”) + φέρω (phérō, “to bear, carry”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans fosfor
- fosforelement
Arabic فُسْفُور
- فُسْفُور (fusfūr)element
Basque fosforoa
- fosforoaelement
Bulgarian фо́сфор
- фо́сфор (fósfor)element
Catalan fòsfor
- fòsforelement
Chinese Cantonese 磷
- 磷 (leon⁴)element
Chinese Mandarin 磷
- 磷 (lìn)element
Czech fosfor, jitřenka
- fosforelement
- jitřenkaan ancient Greek name for the morning star
Danish fosfor
- fosforelement
Dutch fosfor
- fosforelement
Esperanto fosforo
- fosforoelement
Estonian fosfor
- fosforelement
Finnish fosfori
- fosforielement
French phosphore
- phosphoreelement
German Phosphor
- Phosphorelement
Greek φώσφορος
- φώσφορος (fósforos)element
Hebrew זרחן
- זרחן (zarkhan)element
Hindi भास्वर
- भास्वर (bhāsvar)element
Hungarian foszfor
- foszforelement
Icelandic fosfór
- fosfórelement
Irish fosfar
- fosfarelement
Italian fosforo, Venere
- fosforoelement
- Venerean ancient Greek name for the morning star
Japanese リン, 燐
- リン (rin)element
- 燐 (rin)element
Korean 인, 인소
- 인 (in)element
- 인소 (inso)element
- 샛별 (saetbyeol)an ancient Greek name for the morning star
Latin phosphorus
- phosphoruselement
Latvian fosfors
- fosforselement
Lithuanian fosforas
- fosforaselement
Malay fosforus
- fosforuselement
Māori pūtūtaewhetū
- pūtūtaewhetūelement
Norwegian Bokmål fosfor
- fosforelement
Persian فسفر
- فسفر (fosfor)element
Polish fosfor
- fosforelement
Portuguese fósforo
- fósforoelement
Romanian fosfor
- fosforelement
Russian фо́сфор
- фо́сфор (fósfor)element
Scottish Gaelic fosfor
- fosforelement
Slovak fosfor, zornička
- fosforelement
- zorničkaan ancient Greek name for the morning star
- zornicaan ancient Greek name for the morning star
Spanish fósforo
- fósforoelement
Swahili fosforasi
- fosforasielement
Swedish fosfor
- fosforelement
Tagalog posporo
- posporoelement
Tamil தீமுறி, பிரகாசிதம்
- தீமுறி (tīmuṟi)element
- பிரகாசிதம் (pirakācitam)element
- பாஸ்பரஸ் (pāsparas)element
Thai ฟอสฟอรัส
- ฟอสฟอรัส (fɔ́ɔs-fɔɔ-rás)element
Turkish fosfor
- fosforelement
Ukrainian фо́сфор
- фо́сфор (fósfor)element
Vietnamese photpho, phốtpho
- photphoelement
- phốtphoelement
Welsh ffósfforws
- ffósfforwselement
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
phosphorus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phosphorus
“phosphorus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phosphorus. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phosphorus,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phosphorus.
Source: phosphorus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.