napalm en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree Akkadian napṭumbor.? Old Persian *naftahbor. Ancient Greek νάφθα (náphtha)bor. Latin naphthabor. English naphtha French -ènebor. English -ene English naphthene Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English na(phthenic) ▲ Spanish palmitocalq. Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-? Proto-Indo-European *pel-? Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₂meh₂ Proto-Italic *palamā Latin palmader. Old French paumeder. ▲ Latin palmader. Middle French palme French palme Proto-Indo-European *-tósder. Ancient Greek -της (-tēs)der. Ancient Greek -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs)der. Latin -ītēslbor. French -ite French palmite ▲ English -ic English palm(itic) English napalm Formed from na(phthenic) palm(itic) acid, the two original components of the substance.
Meanings
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(uncountable, usually) A highly flammable, viscous substance, designed to stick to the body while burning, used in warfare as an incendiary especially in wooded areas.
A trio of needle-nosed silver Phantom jets descended from the clouds and dropped a colossal load of napalm on the jungle. Flames turned the screen red and orange. Silence followed. “You smell that?” Kilgore said, almost to himself. Then, louder, “You smell that?” Lance, the champion surfer, asked “What?” Kilgore, lit by the glow of burning trees, retorted, “Napalm, son—nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed for 12 hours, and when it was all over I walked up; we didn’t find one of ’em … not one stinking dink body. But the smell—you know, that gasoline smell—the whole hill—it smelled like … victory.”
2013 April 1, Robert M. Neer, “PARIAH”, in Napalm: An American Biography, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 140:Phuc was photographed aged nine as she ran, unclothed and screaming in agony, after napalm was dropped by a South Vietnamese Skyraider attack aircraft.
2022 July 1, Rebecca Ratcliffe, “‘Napalm girl’ Phan Thi Kim Phuc receives final burn treatment after 50 years”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2022:
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(figuratively, uncountable, usually) Anything very incendiary; dynamite.
sexual napalm
When leaked, the controversial documents proved to be political napalm.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| napalms | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
napalmlike · antinapalm · napalmer · prison napalm
Translations (29)
be напа́лм (flammable substance) · sh napalm (flammable substance) · hi नेपाम (flammable substance) · eu napalm (flammable substance) · hu napalm (flammable substance) · pl napalm (flammable substance) · ru напа́лм (flammable substance) · es napalm (flammable substance) · sv napalm (flammable substance) · ja ナパーム弾 (flammable substance) · eo napalmo (flammable substance) · vi bom napan (flammable substance) · mk напалм (flammable substance) · pt napalm (flammable substance) · uk напа́лм (flammable substance) · de Napalm (flammable substance) · cmn 燒夷彈 /烧夷弹 (flammable substance) · cmn 凝固汽油彈 /凝固汽油弹 (flammable substance) · fr napalm (flammable substance) · nl napalm (flammable substance) · vi napan (flammable substance) · io napalmo (flammable substance) · ca napalm (flammable substance) · ko 나팜 (flammable substance) · bg напа́лм (flammable substance) · fi napalm (flammable substance) · sh напалм (flammable substance) · ko 네이팜 (flammable substance) · ja ナパーム (flammable substance)