Etymologically
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chloride

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈklɔːˌɹaɪd/, /ˈklɔɹˌaɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English chlorine + -ide,[2][3][4][5][6][7] coined by Humphry Davy on the analogy of oxide.[5] Merriam-Webster gives the source as German Chlorid.[8] Chlorine, also named by Davy, is from Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós, “greenish yellow, pale green”), after the colour of the gas.[2][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A simple compound of chlorine with a metal or an organic radical: 1812, in Davy's Elements of Chemical Philosophy.[2][5][8]

Semantic evolution

Soon after Davy's coinage the word was applied loosely, from 1818, to bleaching and disinfecting compounds such as chloride of lime, which are not simple chlorides;[2][3] the Shorter Oxford describes these as bleaches containing a hypochlorite.[3] On the Pacific coast of the United States chlorides were, from 1881, ores containing chloride of silver.[2] Merriam-Webster also records a photographic sense, chloride paper or a print made on it.[8]

Timeline

  • 1812 – a compound of chlorine with another element or radical, coined by Davy.[2][5][8]
  • 1818 – bleaching and disinfecting compounds, as chloride of lime.[2]
  • 1881 – in the western United States, ores containing chloride of silver.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A compound of chlorine with another element or radical, especially a salt or ester of hydrochloric acid: Common salt is sodium chloride.[8][9][3]
  2. The negatively charged ion Cl⁻, made of one chlorine atom.[8][9]
  3. Loosely, a bleach or disinfectant containing a hypochlorite.[3][2]
  4. Chloride paper, a photographic paper, or a print made on it.[8]

Word family

  • chloridic
  • bichloride
  • chloridize
  • dichloride
  • hexachloride
  • hydrochloride
  • monochloride
  • oxychloride

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins