Meanings
- archaicuncountableWood coal or charcoal, distinguished from mineral coal; lignite.
There are two beads of much interest: a small cylindrical one of chrysoprase, and a large one turned out of a piece of xylanthrax, similar to that met with at Bovy, Devonshire.
1863, The journal of the British Archaeological Association: Volume 19, page 3211 more example
This clay formation, entirely unconnected with that of the Mississippi, and the lower part of the Arkansa, is of a blueish-grey, abounding in pyrites and xylanthrax, and is the active seat of those pseudo-volcanoes and their remains existing in the upper part of the Missouri territory.
1821, Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia: Volume 2, page 24
Origin
Pseudo-loan from Ancient Greek, derived from ξυλο- (xulo-, “wooden”) + ἄνθραξ (ánthrax, “coal”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
xylanthrax. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xylanthrax
“xylanthrax.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xylanthrax. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “xylanthrax,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xylanthrax.
Source: xylanthrax on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.