spirit lamp
- noun
- /ˈspɪrɪt læmp/
- Specialized
:
lámpara de alcohol
- When Peter returned, he was carrying a pipe, a spirit lamp, and a carved ivory box.
Examples
-
To keep the soup warm on the table, they used a spirit lamp beneath the pot.
-
That spirit lamp of mine will be the death of me yet.
-
The scientist used a spirit lamp to heat the chemical solution in the lab.
-
During the demonstration, the teacher placed the beaker over a spirit lamp for heating.
Synonyms
274
1.0
Something that gives light for a room or table
A small portable cooker that burns alcohol for cooking and heating
How Hot
- Specialized
16
4.6
- Specialized
4
3.5
- Specialized
451
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a lamp that burns alcohol' follows directly from combining 'spirit' (here meaning distilled alcohol) with 'lamp' (a light/fuel device). This is a straightforward compositional compound that a B1 learner who knows the alcohol sense of 'spirit' would readily understand (the only caveat is potential confusion if the learner only knows 'spirit' in the ghost/essence sense).
Etymology
Spirit lamp comes from the word spirit, an old name for 'alcohol', and lamp, a small light that burns fuel. The picture of a little lamp whose flame is fed by spirit makes clear why the name means a small lamp that burns 'alcohol' to heat things in labs.