nitrous

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: ni=trous

CIDE DICTIONARY

nitrous, a. [L. nitrosus full of natron: cf. F. nitreux. See Niter.].

•  Of, pertaining to, or containing, niter; of the quality of niter, or resembling it.  [1913 Webster]
•  Of, pertaining to, or designating, any one of those compounds in which nitrogen has a relatively lower valence as contrasted with nitric compounds.  [1913 Webster]

Nitrous acid (Chem.), a hypothetical acid of nitrogen HNO2, not known in the free state, but forming a well known series of salts, viz., the nitrites. -- Nitrous oxide. See Laughing gas.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

nitrous, adj. of, like, or impregnated with nitrogen, esp. in the tervalent state.

Idiom

nitrous acid a weak acid existing only in solution and in the gas phase.

Usage

Chem. formula: N2O

Etymology

L nitrosus (as NITRE), partly through F nitreux