Air which does not sustain combustion, supposedly through being combined with phlogiston; (in modern terms) air lacking oxygen and therefore consisting chiefly of nitrogen.
Origin
Late 18th century.
Definition of phlogisticated air in US English:
phlogisticated air
noun
historical
Air which does not sustain combustion, supposedly through being combined with phlogiston; (in modern terms) air lacking oxygen and therefore consisting chiefly of nitrogen.