"lucifer match" means: A sulfur friction match whose head is treated with equal parts antimony trisulfide and potassium chlorate.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
lucifer match
(British, obsolete) A sulfur friction match whose head is treated with equal parts antimony trisulfide and potassium chlorate.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1829 · no dated citations yetDefinitions
(British, obsolete) A sulfur friction match whose head is treated with equal parts antimony trisulfide and potassium chlorate.
1894 December 29, "The Invention of the Lucifer Match", The Bendigo Advertiser, p. 6:
"lucifer match" means: A sulfur friction match whose head is treated with equal parts antimony trisulfide and potassium chlorate.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
"lucifer match" means: A sulfur friction match whose head is treated with equal parts antimony trisulfide and potassium chlorate.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. Note the regional or dialect label (British) — usage may sound odd outside that variety. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Other words near "lucifer match" (L)
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Related terms
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Semantically related
- parlour match63%
(UK, archaic) A low-sulphur or sulphurless friction match, a friction match with no disagreeable brimstone odour, particularly those employing paraffin instead of sulphur to slow the combustion of the matchstick.
- lunt56%
A slow-burning match or torch.
- squib53%
(mining) A kind of slow match or safety fuse.
- brimstone50%
(archaic) Sulfur.
- squib48%
A similar device used to ignite an explosive or launch a rocket, etc.