Vulcan

[ vuhl-kuhn ]

noun

1. the ancient Roman god of fire and metalworking, identified with the Greek Hephaestus.
2. Military. a six-barrel, 20 mm U.S. Army antiaircraft gun system mounted on an armored personnel carrier and first deployed in 1968.
3. Astronomy. a hypothetical planet nearest the sun whose existence was erroneously postulated to account for perturbations in Mercury's orbit.

Vulcan

¹

/ vʌlˈkeɪnɪən; ˈvʌlkən /

noun

1. the Roman god of fire and metalworking Greek counterpartHephaestus

Vulcan

²

/ ˈvʌlkən; vʌlˈkeɪnɪən /

noun

1. a hypothetical planet once thought to lie within the orbit of Mercury

Vulcan

1. The Roman and Greek god of fire and metalworking; the blacksmith of the gods. He suffered bodily deformities and lameness. According to some stories, he was married to Venus , the goddess of love and beauty; in other stories, he was married to one of the three Graces . Vulcan was a son of Jupiter .

Derived Forms

• Vulcanian, adjective
• Vulcanian, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Vulcan¹

First recorded in 1505–15, Vulcan is from the Latin word Vulcānus

Example Sentences

The venture introduced its new Vulcan Centaur rocket this year, which is partly reusable and lowers launch costs to about $110 million.

From Los Angeles Times

When Leonard Nimoy was approached about acting in a new TV series called “Star Trek,” he was, like any good Vulcan contemplating a risky mission in a chaotic universe, dispassionate.

From Los Angeles Times

It is due to launch on ULA’s new Vulcan rocket, the eventual successor to the Atlas V.

From Seattle Times

Eruption, which had original working titles of The Black Zone and Vulcan, is Patterson's first attempt at posthumous publishing - but he is familiar with high-profile collaborations, having written Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton's autobiographies.

From BBC

Alabama-based Vulcan Materials said in a statement Monday that offer “substantially undervalues our assets.”

From Seattle Times