vulcanist
(ˈvʌlkənɪst)
[In early use f. Vulcan n. + -ist. In sense 3 ad. F. vulcaniste, var. of volcaniste volcanist.]
† 1. One who works by fire; spec. an alchemist, a blacksmith. Obs.
| 1593 Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 177 The Country affordeth sufficient prouision of water, to encounter the terriblest Vulcanist, that brandisheth a burning sword, or a fierie tongue. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. ii. 23, I perswade my selfe, that no philosophicall vulcanist, or perfect paracelsian, will ever finde any true magisterie, tincture, quintessence or Arcanum therein. 1603 Dekker Wonderf. Yeare C 2 b, What Mechanicall hardhanded Vulcanist but perswaded himselfe to bee Maister of the Company. |
2. One who is lame, as Vulcan was.
| 1656 Artif. Handsom. 60 Your Laps Charity doth not reprove, but pity those poor Vulcanists, who ballance the inequality of their heels, or badger leggs, by the art and help of the shoemaker. |
3. = volcanist 1.
| 1802 Playfair Illustr. Huttonian The. 3 Their followers have of late been distinguished by the fanciful names of Vulcanists and Neptunists. 1830 Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 90 In addition to volcanic heat, to which the Vulcanists formerly attributed too much influence, we must allow for the effect of mechanical pressure [etc.]. 1884 Sir L. Playfair in Gd. Words Feb. 93/1 Vulcanists of the old school would be equally perplexed, because petroleum is so volatile that..it would be dissipated. 1969 New Yorker 19 Apr. 52/2 Baldwin..was the first person to suggest convincingly that meteors might have made many of the moon's craters; previously, almost all selenologists had been vulcanists. 1971 Nature 27 Aug. 600/3 Although there is now a vast amount of data on the physics, chemistry and shape of the Moon, the ‘vulcanists’ and ‘impacters’ at the symposium on this subject seem to be as widely divided as ever. |