pyro-, pyr-

Something made by the destructive distillation of wood.

Pertaining to, or designating, an acid now called cyanuric acid.

Someone who studies the effects of heat.

1. The study of fire and heat, especially with regard to chemical analysis.
2. A treatise on heat; or the natural history of heat, latent and sensible.
3. That branch of physical science which deals with the properties, phenomena, or effects of heat; also, a treatise on heat.

1. The use of heat to break down complex chemical substances into simpler substances.
2. The transformation of a substance produced by the action of heat

A reference to the decomposition of a material or compound because of heat in the absence of oxygen or any other reagents.

Someone who uses fire in military combat or fighting.

Fighting with fire or the use of fire in military combat.

A highly mobile lava, over saturated with gases, that exists at lower depths than hypomagma.

Hypomagma is defined as a relatively immobile, viscous lava that forms at depth beneath a shield volcano, and which is under saturated with gases, and initiates volcanic activity.

Someone who foretells the future with fire or flames.

Divination with fire or flames: A good omen resulted by pyromancy when the flames were vigorous and quickly consumed the sacrifice and when the smoke was transparent, neither red nor dark in color.

On the other hand, when the fire didn’t crackle, but burnt silently in a pyramidal form, a bad omen was predicted, even when it was difficult to kindle, disturbed by wind or slow to consume the victim.

Mantics also observed flames of torches by throwing powdered pitch into the flames. Another aspect is pyroscopy (based on the burn stains left on a light surface after burning a sheet of paper).

1. Insanity characterized by an impulse to set things on fire; a compulsion for incendiarism: A man was running through the forest and he seemed to be showing his pyromania because he was seen dropping lighted matches on the dry leaves.
2. An irrational desire to set destructive fires and to watch things burn up: The arsonist was accused of being possessed with pyromania again because she was known to have ignited buildings in the past and just stand nearby to see the flaming structures go up in smoke and she was seen in the vicinity of this new conflagration as she stood across the street from the building as it was being demolished. © ALL rights are reserved.

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A person who has an uncontrollable impulse, or urge, to start fires: The judge sentenced Sam, who was identified as a pyromaniac, to house arrest with a surveillance bracelet to track and restrict his activities in case he were to have a compulsion to ignite anything. © ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more Mickey Bach illustrations.

A reference to a monomania or insanity that someone has for setting and watching fires: "There are some pyromaniacal people who have a strong desire to start fires and watch things burn."

"Pyromaniacal fires can be very destructive and even cause deaths for those who are in a building that a pyromaniac has purposely set on fire."

Characterized by a persistent compulsion to start fires.