name · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:fŏs'fərəs
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈfɒsfərəs/
US:fäs'fərəs
US:/ˈfɑsfɚəs/
homophone: phosphorous
homophone: phosphorus
Received-Pronunciation:fŏsʹfə-rəs
Received-Pronunciation:fŏsʹfrəs
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈfɒs.fə.ɹəs/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈfɒs.fɹəs/
US:fäsʹfər-əs
US:/ˈfɑs.fɚ.əs/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
homophone: Phosphorus
CMU ARPABET:F AA1 S F ER0 AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
name
Meaning 1
A name sometimes used for Hesperus, the personification in Greek mythology of the planet Venus.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Hesperus
Antonyms: none provided
2
name
Meaning 2
An Ancient Greek name for the morning star (the planet Venus when it is visible in the eastern sky before sunrise).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
For quotations using this term, see Citations:phosphorus.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Any substance exhibiting phosphorescence; a phosphor.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable
Examples
For quotations using this term, see Citations:phosphorus.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
a planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: morning star, daystar, Lucifer
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: planet, major planet
6
noun
Meaning 6
a 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
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: P, atomic number 15
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: chemical element, element
History
Etymology
From Latinised Greek Phosphorus, from Ancient Greek Φωσφόρος (Phōsphóros, “the bearer of light”), from φῶς (phôs, “light”) + φέρω (phérō, “to bear, carry”).
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- Proto-Indo-European *bhéh2os Proto-Hellenic *pháwos Ancient Greek φᾰ́ος (phắos) Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs) Proto-Indo-European *bher- Proto-Indo-European *bhéreti Proto-Hellenic *phérō Ancient Greek φέρω (phérō) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Hellenic *-os Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek -φόρος (-phóros) Ancient Greek φωσφόρος (phōsphóros)bor. Latin phōsphorusbor. English phosphorus Borrowed from Latin phōsphorus, from Ancient Greek φωσφόρος (phōsphóros, “the bearer of light”), from φῶς (phôs, “light”) + φέρω (phérō, “to bear, carry”).
Across languages
Translations
94 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Czech:
jitřenka
— an ancient Greek name for the morning star
Italian:
Venere
— an ancient Greek name for the morning star
Korean:
샛별
(saetbyeol)
— an ancient Greek name for the morning star
Slovak:
zornička
— an ancient Greek name for the morning star
Slovak:
zornica
— an ancient Greek name for the morning star
Afrikaans:
fosfor
— element
Albanian:
fosfor
— element
Arabic:
فُسْفُور
(fusfūr)
— element
Armenian:
ֆոսֆոր
(fosfor)
— element
Asturian:
fósforu
— element
Azerbaijani:
آتش چیقاریجی
(atäsh chiqariji)
— element
