Adjacent Words

Arsenic definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

'ARSENIC, n. [Gr.'L. arsenicum.]
Arsenic, as it is usually seen in the shops, is not a metal, but an oxyd, from which the metal may be easily obtained by mixing it with half its weight of black flux, and introducing the mixture into a Florence flask, gradually raised to a red heat, in a sand bath. A brilliant metallic sublimate of pure arsenic collects in the upper part of the flask. Arsenic is of a steel blue color, quite brittle, and the metal with all its compounds, is a virulent poison, vulgarly called rats-bane. It forms alloys with most of the metals. Combined with sulphur it forms orpiment or realgar, which are the yellow and red sulphurets of arsenic. Orpiment is the true arsenicum of the ancients. Plin. 34, 18. native orpiment appears in yellow, brilliant, and seemingly talcky masses of various sizes; realgar is red, of different shades, and often crystallized in needles. Arsenic is also found as a mineralizer in cobalt, antimony, copper, iron and silver ores. It is brought chiefly from the cobalt works in Saxony, where zaffer is made.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a white powdered poisonous trioxide of arsenic; used in manufacturing glass and as a pesticide (rat poison) and weed killer [syn: arsenic, arsenic trioxide, arsenous anhydride, arsenous oxide, white arsenic, ratsbane]
2: a very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms; arsenic and arsenic compounds are used as herbicides and insecticides and various alloys; found in arsenopyrite and orpiment and realgar [syn: arsenic, As, atomic number 33]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English arsenik orpiment, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin arsenicum, from Greek arsenikon, arrhenikon, from Syriac zarn?g, of Iranian origin; akin to Avestan zaranya gold, Sanskrit hari yellowish — more at yellow Date: 14th century 1. a trivalent and pentavalent metalloid poisonous element that is commonly metallic steel gray, crystalline, and brittle and is used especially in wood preservatives, alloys, and semiconductors — see element table 2. a poisonous trioxide As₂O₃ or As₄O₆ of arsenic used especially as an insecticide or weed killer — called also arsenic trioxide II. adjective Date: 1801 of, relating to, or containing arsenic especially with a valence of five

Dictionary of the Elements

arsenic
Symbol: As
Atomic number: 33
Atomic weight: 74.922
Metalloid element of group 15. There are three allotropes, yellow, black, and grey. Reacts with halogens, concentrated oxidizing acids and hot alkalis. Albertus Magnus is believed to have been the first to isolate the element in 1250.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a non-scientific name for arsenic trioxide, a highly poisonous white powdery substance used in weed-killers, rat poison, etc. 2 Chem. a brittle semi-metallic element, used in semiconductors and alloys. Usage: Symb.: As. --adj. 1 of or concerning arsenic. 2 Chem. containing arsenic with a valency of five. Phrases and idioms: red arsenic = REALGAR. white arsenic = sense 1. Derivatives: arsenious adj. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L arsenicum f. Gk arsenikon yellow orpiment, identified with arsenikos male, but in fact f. Arab. al-zarnik f. al the + zarnik orpiment f. Pers. f. zar gold

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Arsenic Ar*sen"ic, a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, arsenic; -- said of those compounds of arsenic in which this element has its highest equivalence; as, arsenic acid.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Arsenic Ar"se*nic ([aum]r"s[-e]*n[i^]k; 277), n. [L. arsenicum, Gr. 'arseniko`n, 'arreniko`n, yellow orpiment, perh. fr. 'arseniko`s or better Attic 'arreniko`s masculine, 'a`rrhn male, on account of its strength, or fr. Per. zern[=i]kh: cf. F. arsenic.] 1. (Chem.) One of the elements, a solid substance resembling a metal in its physical properties, but in its chemical relations ranking with the nonmetals. It is of a steel-gray color and brilliant luster, though usually dull from tarnish. It is very brittle, and sublimes at 356[deg] Fahrenheit. It is sometimes found native, but usually combined with silver, cobalt, nickel, iron, antimony, or sulphur. Orpiment and realgar are two of its sulphur compounds, the first of which is the true arsenicum of the ancients. The element and its compounds are active poisons. Specific gravity from 5.7 to 5.9. Atomic weight 75. Symbol As. 2. (Com.) Arsenious oxide or arsenious anhydride; -- called also arsenious acid, white arsenic, and ratsbane.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Arsenic is a very strong poison which can kill people.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. See arsenious oxide.

Moby Thesaurus

DDD, DDT, Paris green, antimony, arsenic trioxide, beryllium, bichloride of mercury, cadmium, carbolic acid, carbon monoxide, carbon tetrachloride, chlorine, cyanide, hydrocyanic acid, hyoscyamine, lead, mercuric chloride, mercury, mustard gas, nicotine, phenol, poison gas, prussic acid, selenium, strychnine