Gunpowder Was Invented by Alchemists Seeking Immortality
Powder is finely ground solid. The most consequential powder in history was found by Chinese alchemists looking for an elixir of life.
Powder is a substance ground into fine particles. Gunpowder has an ironic origin: Chinese alchemists of the ninth century, experimenting in search of an elixir of immortality, found instead a mixture that exploded. Early texts warn practitioners that the compound had burned down buildings and singed beards.
- A finely ground solid. *Baking powder.*
- Gunpowder. *Kegs of powder.*
- To apply powder. *Powder her face.*
- Keep your powder dry — stay ready. *Keep your powder dry.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | powder | Talcum powder. |
| Plural | powders | Various powders. |
| Verb | powder | Powder the surface. |
| Adjective | powdery | A powdery snow. |
| Related | pulverise | Pulverise the rock. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Keep your powder dry.Attributed to Cromwell.
- A powder keg is an explosive situation.Figurative.
- Powder and pulverise share a root.Latin *pulvis*, dust.
Gunpowder facts
- Three ingredients — saltpetre, charcoal and sulphur
- Chinese origin — recorded by alchemists in the ninth century
- Black powder — the traditional formulation, now largely replaced
- Smokeless powder — nineteenth-century, transforming warfare
- Powder keg — a barrel of gunpowder, and a metaphor for danger
From Old French *poudre*, from Latin *pulvis*, dust — related to *pollen* and *pulverise*.
Who invented gunpowder?
Chinese alchemists, recorded from the ninth century. They were seeking an elixir of immortality and found an explosive instead.
Are powder and pollen related?
Yes. Both come from Latin words for dust or fine flour, *pulvis* and *pollen*.