Definitions for "Greek Fire"
a generic name for various liquid incendiary weapons
a mixture used by Byzantine Greeks that was often shot at adversaries; catches fire when wetted
An incendiary substance used to charge shells, Greek fire saw little service during the Civil War because of its tendency to explode in a loaded bun before it was fired. In the 7th century the general of Constantine IV's fleet used it to destroy the Saracens' ships; 19th-century military encyclopedias speculated that the combustible was principally naphtha. Inventor Levi Short of Philadelphia developed the Greek fire of Civil war vintage, probably a combustible achieved by making a solution of phosphorus in bisulfide of carbon.
Highly inflammable liquid whose flames cannot be extinguished with water.