deflagrate

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The Word of the Day for June 18 is:

deflagrate   \DEF-luh-grayt\   verb 
    *1 : to burn rapidly with intense heat and sparks being given off 
     2 : to cause to burn in such a manner 

Example sentence: 
     Certain materials, such as black powder, will deflagrate rather than cause 
a violent explosion when they are ignited.

Did you know? 
     "Deflagrate" combines the Latin verb "flagrare," meaning "to burn," with 
the Latin prefix "de-," meaning "down" or "away." "Flagrare" is also an 
ancestor of such words as "conflagration" and "flagrant" and is distantly 
related to "fulgent" and "flame." In the field of explosives, "deflagrate" is 
used to describe the burning of fuel accelerated by the expansion of gasses 
under the pressure of containment, which causes the containing vessel to break 
apart. In comparison, the term "detonate" (from the Latin "tonare," meaning "to 
thunder") refers to an instant, violent explosion that results when shock waves 
pass through molecules and displace them at supersonic speed. "Deflagrate" has 
been making sparks in English since about 1727, and "detonate" burst onto the 
scene a couple of years later. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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