nitrile definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of a class of organic compounds containing the cyano radical -CN [syn: nitrile, nitril, cyanide]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary nitr- + -il, -ile (from Latin -ilis ¹-ile) Date: 1848 an organic cyanide containing the group CN which on hydrolysis yields an acid with elimination of ammonia

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Chem. an organic compound consisting of an alkyl radical bound to a cyanide radical.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nitrile Ni"trile (? or ?), n. [See Nitro-.] (Chem.) Any one of a series of cyanogen compounds; particularly, one of those cyanides of alcohol radicals which, by boiling with acids or alkalies, produce a carboxyl acid, with the elimination of the nitrogen as ammonia. Note: The nitriles are named with reference to the acids produced by their decomposition, thus, hydrocyanic acid is formic nitrile, and methyl cyanide is acetic nitrile.