cyanogen
/saɪˈæn.ə.d͡ʒɪn/ noun
Forms cyanogens
- noun (organic chemistry) The pseudohalogen (CN)₂; a colorless, poisonous gas used as a rocket propellant, an insecticide and in chemical warfare.
- noun (inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry) The radical -CN.
Synonyms
Etymology
From cyano- + -gen; compare French cyanogène. So called because it produced blue dyes.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A colorless, inflammable, poisonous gas, C2N2, with a peach-blossom odor, so called from its tendency to form blue compounds; obtained by heating ammonium oxalate, mercuric cyanide, etc. It is obtained in combination, forming an alkaline cyanide when nitrogen or a nitrogenous compound is strongly ignited with carbon and soda or potash. It conducts itself like a member of the halogen group of elements, and shows a tendency to form complex compounds. The name is also applied to the univalent radical, CN (the half molecule of cyanogen proper), which was one of the first compound radicals recogniz
Etymology [Gr. -gen: cf. F. cyanogène. So called because it produced blue dyes.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cyanogen”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details