gaseous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   existing in the physical state of a gas rather than a solid or liquid

   Water becomes gaseous when it evaporates into vapor.

2. 2
   adj

   containing gas or bubbles of gas

   The reaction produced a gaseous mixture that filled the chamber.

3. 3
   adj

   figurative: lacking substance, solidity, or clear meaning

   The proposal remained gaseous until the team added costs and deadlines.

Formed from gas + -eous in the eighteenth century. Gas was coined in the seventeenth century by the chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont, probably under the influence of Greek khaos, 'chaos.'

Topics