# thermal
## English
### Etymology

From French thermal, from New Latin *thermalis, from Ancient Greek θέρμη (thérmē, “heat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer- (“to heat, warm”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA: /ˈθɜːməl/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (General American, Canada) IPA: /ˈθɝməl/
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)məl

### Adjective

thermal (not comparable)
* Pertaining to heat or temperature.
** 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.
* (fabric) Providing efficient insulation so as to keep the body warm.
* Caused or brought about by heat.
* (stone) Having a rough finish from treatment with a blowtorch.

#### Hyponyms

* aerothermal
* hydrothermal

#### Derived terms

* accumulated thermal unit
* allothermal
* anisothermal
* athermal
* autothermal
* biothermal
* bithermal
* British thermal unit
* carbothermal
* chronothermal
* coefficient of thermal expansion
* cryothermal
* dendrothermal
* diathermal
* differential thermal analysis
* dynamothermal
* electrothermal
* endothermal
* epithermal
* eurythermal
* exothermal
* geothermal
* gravithermal
* gravothermal
* gyrothermal
* haematothermal
* hematothermal
* heterothermal
* homeothermal
* homothermal
* hyperthermal
* hypothermal
* isothermal
* macrothermal
* magnetothermal
* mechanothermal
* megathermal
* mesothermal
* microthermal
* mucothermal
* multithermal
* nanothermal
* non-thermal
* nonthermal
* nuclear-thermal rocket
* optothermal
* oxythermal
* photothermal
* pluviothermal
* poikilothermal
* polythermal
* prethermal
* pseudothermal
* recuperative thermal oxidizer
* regenerative thermal oxidizer
* solar thermal collector
* stenothermal
* subthermal
* superthermal
* suprathermal
* synthermal
* Thermageddon
* thermal analysis
* thermal break
* thermal camera
* thermal coal
* thermal compound
* thermal conductance
* thermal conductivity
* thermal contact
* thermal credit
* thermal cycler
* thermal death time
* thermal design power
* thermal desorption
* thermal energy
* thermal gel
* thermalgravimetric
* thermal grease
* thermal horsepower
* thermal imaging
* thermalisation
* thermalise
* thermalism
* thermality
* thermalization
* thermalize
* thermal lance
* thermal lithosphere
* thermally
* thermal mass
* thermal neutron
* thermal noise
* thermal oxidizer
* thermal paper
* thermal paste
* thermal printer
* thermal pulse
* thermal radiation
* thermal relaxation time
* thermal rocket
* thermal shock
* thermal spring
* thermal turbulence
* thermal underwear
* thermistor

#### Related terms

* therm
* thermo-

#### Translations
### Noun

thermal (plural thermals)
* (meteorology) A column of rising air in the lower atmosphere created by uneven heating of a planet's surface.
** 2019, Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities, Abacus (2019), page 91:The hawk had mounted its thermal by the time he got to the yard, flapping its wings violently against the updraft.

#### Synonyms

* thermal column

#### Coordinate terms

* devil
* dust devil
* fire devil
* landspout
* spout
* steam devil
* waterspout

#### Translations
### Verb

thermal (third-person singular simple present thermals, present participle thermaling or thermalling, simple past and past participle thermaled or thermalled)
* (stone) To create a rough finish on stone by treating it with a high-temperature blowtorch.
* (gliding, often in the present participle) To fly an unpowered aircraft in a thermal (column of rising air).

#### Coordinate terms

* edge (creating a finish on stone)
* thermal edge (creating a finish on stone)
* gliding (fly an unpowered aircraft)

### Further reading

* “thermal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “thermal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

## French
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tɛʁ.mal/

### Adjective

thermal (feminine thermale, masculine plural thermaux, feminine plural thermales)
* thermal

#### Descendants

* → Romanian: termal
* → Turkish: termal

### Further reading

* “thermal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Interlingua
### Adjective

thermal (not comparable)
* thermal

#### Related terms

* thermic