Smog Is Smoke and Fog Joined Together
Smog is polluted fog. The word was coined in 1905 by combining two others.
Smog is a fog made heavier and more harmful by smoke or chemical pollutants. The word is a documented coinage: Dr Henry Antoine Des Voeux used it in a 1905 paper to the Public Health Congress, blending *smoke* and *fog*, and newspapers picked it up within days. Few words have such a clear birth date. London's Great Smog of December 1952 killed thousands and led directly to the Clean Air Act of 1956.
- Polluted fog. *Heavy smog.*
- A portmanteau. *Smoke plus fog.*
- Photochemical smog. *Photochemical smog.*
- Smoggy — full of smog. *Smoggy.*
- Coined in 1905. *Des Voeux.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | smog | Smog. |
| Adjective | smoggy | Smoggy. |
| Source | smoke | Smoke. |
| Source | fog | Fog. |
| Term | portmanteau | A portmanteau. |
- Smog covered the city.Pollution.
- It was coined in 1905.History.
- The Great Smog of 1952.Event.
The Great Smog of London
- December 1952 — a cold windless spell trapped coal smoke
- Visibility fell to a few metres for five days
- Thousands died from respiratory causes
- Public outcry followed the scale of the deaths
- The Clean Air Act 1956 restricted domestic coal burning
A blend of *smoke* and *fog*, coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in 1905.
Who coined the word smog?
Dr Henry Antoine Des Voeux, in a 1905 paper to the Public Health Congress, blending smoke and fog.
What was the Great Smog?
A five-day pollution event in London in December 1952 that killed thousands and led to the Clean Air Act.