Word: soot

Category:

Description/Reason:

fine black or dull brown particles of amorphous carbon and tar, produced by the incomplete combustion of coal, oil etc. "The lamps are covered in soot"


Comment below with feedback and suggestions.

Responses

    1. Except soot is specifically the solid residue of incomplete hydrocarbon combustion. Ash is the solid residue of any fire. Often soot itself is combustible enough to be burned again, yielding ash.

      1. I find the {tIpqanHom} suggestion to be pretty good. It's like a lesser form of ash, which seems to describe soot. It's a product of burning, but it needs more burning to become ash.

        1. I appreciate the logic. It's ashy, but not quite as ashy as ash is. The same way that a {mangHom} "cadet" is soldier-ish, but isn't officially a soldier.

          But I still think soot is chemically distinct enough from any other ash precursor, including charcoal.