Ozone

Pronunciation

Origin

From German Ozon, coined 1840 by Christian Friedrich Schönbein, from Ancient Greek ὄζον, neuter participle of ὄζω ("I smell"), in reference to its pungent odour.

Noun

1. (chemistry) An allotrope of oxygen (symbol O

1. (from an erroneous former belief that seaweed contains and releases ozone) Fresh air, especially that breathed at the seaside and smelling of seaweed.
• 1875, William Crookes, The Chemical News, page 99,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.
• 1888, L. T. Meade, A. Balfour Symington, Edwin Oliver, Atalanta, Volume 1, page 674,To Ramsgate baths she sped, in quest
  Of seaweed and ozone ;
  For seaweed and ozone were best,
  They said, to give her tone.
• 2007, Robert Douglas, Tales of the Unexpected, Somewhere to Lay My Head, unnumbered page,It's got the lot: fresh sea air, ozone, seaweed. You could cut the air with a knife.

Derived terms

• ozone bath
• ozone layer
• ozone resistance
• ozone therapy

Related terms

• (chemistry) ozonate