witch-meal

English

Noun

witch-meal (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) A flash powder made from club moss; vegetable sulphur.
   • 1915, Alice Mona CAIRD, The Stones of Sacrifice, page 275:

     […] substance which Graine knew to be 'witch-meal'; the seeds of dried lycopodium moss; the other set the dust on fire with a burning stick, the flame pursuing the flying particles till they were consumed, when the light flashed out […]

Alternative forms

• witchmeal, witches' meal

Further reading

• 1897, The Columbian Cyclopedia:

  WITCH-MEAL, the pollen or powder of the lycopodium or club-moss, which, from its inflammable nature, is used in theatres to produce a sudden flash or blaze, in order to imitate lightning.