thermal
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
thermal/ˈθɜːml/
▶adjective
- 1 relating to heat.
■ another term for geothermal. ■Physics relating to or denoting particles in thermodynamic equilibrium with their surroundings: thermal neutrons.
- 2 (of a garment) made of a fabric that provides good insulation to keep the body warm.
- 1 an upward current of warm air, used by birds, gliders, and balloonists to gain height.
- 2 (thermals) thermal garments, especially underwear.
– derivatives
thermally adverb.
thermally adverb.
– origin C18 (in the sense ‘relating to hot springs’): from Fr., from Gk thermē ‘heat’.
'thermal' also found in these Oxford entries:
British thermal unit
- Btu
- entropy
- expansion joint
- fango
- heat capacity
- inertia
- inversion
- metal
- perlite
- stenothermal
- therm
- thermal capacity
- thermal efficiency
- thermal imaging
- thermalize
- thermal printer
- thermal spring
- thermistor
- tog
- vermiculite
