Etymology
Advertisement

Thermos (n.)

trademark registered in Britain 1907, invented by Sir James Dewar (patented 1904 but not named then), from Greek thermos "hot" (from PIE root *gwher- "to heat, warm"). Dewar built the first one in 1892, but it was first manufactured commercially in Germany in 1904, when two glass blowers formed Thermos GmbH. Supposedly the company sponsored a contest to name the thing, and a Munich resident won with a submission of Thermos.

Entries linking to Thermos

*gwher- 

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to heat, warm."

It forms all or part of: brand; brandish; brandy; brimstone; brindled; forceps; Fornax; fornicate; fornication; fornix; furnace; hypothermia; thermal; thermo-; Thermopylae; Thermos.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit gharmah "heat;" Old Persian Garmapada-, name of the fourth month, corresponding to June/July, from garma- "heat;" Hittite war- "to burn;" Armenian jerm "warm;" Greek thermos "warm;" Latin formus "warm," fornax "oven;" Old Irish fogeir "heated;" Old English bærnan "to kindle."

updated on October 10, 2017

Advertisement
Advertisement

Dictionary entries near Thermos

thermography

thermometer

thermonuclear

thermoplastic

Thermopylae

Thermos

thermosphere

thermostat

Theropoda

thesaurus

these

© 2001-2023 Douglas Harper