ozone

Definition

An allotrope of oxygen (symbol O₃) having three atoms in the molecule instead of the usual two; it is a toxic gas, generated from oxygen by electrical discharge.

Etymology

From German Ozon, coined 1840 by Christian Friedrich Schönbein, from Ancient Greek ὄζον (ózon), neuter participle of ὄζω (ózō, “I smell”), in reference to its pungent odour. The “fresh air” sense is from an erroneous former belief that seaweed contains and releases ozone.

Example Sentences

• "Lightning flashed again, the thunder came a second later. It rained harder. The smell of ozone was strong. You could feel the charge in the air."
• "A patent obtained in England, and specified far from clearly, for obtaining ozone by boiling seaweed,†† may be mentioned as a curiosity, and also the credulity with which ozone-baths, prepared in this manner, find a ready sale, in spite of, or perhaps rather on account of, their high price."
• "To Ramsgate baths she sped, in quest / Of seaweed and ozone ; / For seaweed and ozone were best, / They said, to give her tone."