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cyanide

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Etymology and origin of the English word cyanide

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1815 W. Henry, Elements of Experimental Chemistry
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek κύανος

Pronunciation

  • /ˈsaɪənaɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English cyan- + -ide,[2][3][4][5] with cyan- used for the carbon–nitrogen radical cyanogen[6][7] and the chemical suffix as in chloride.[6] The name cyanogen is from French cyanogène, given by Gay-Lussac, who isolated the gas in 1815, from Ancient Greek κύανος (kúanos, “a dark-blue mineral; dark-blue enamel, lapis lazuli”), because it is a component of Prussian blue.[2][5] Barnhart calls the Greek word of uncertain origin,[5] and Etymonline thinks it probably not Indo-European.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A compound of cyanogen with a metal or an organic radical, such as potassium cyanide: 1815, in W. Henry's Elements of Experimental Chemistry.[2] Etymonline, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1826.[6][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The best known of the cyanides, potassium cyanide, is extremely poisonous and was once used in photography and electrometallurgy,[6] and the Shorter Oxford notes the use of cyanide for a powerful poison in general.[3] The verb arose in the 1890s from the cyanide process, in which gold or silver ores are treated with a weak cyanide solution to extract the metal;[2][3] its use for case-hardening iron or steel in molten cyanide is recorded from 1966.[2][4] In organic chemistry cyanide is also another name for a nitrile.[8][3]

Timeline

  • 1815 – a compound of cyanogen with a metal or radical.[2] Etymonline and Barnhart date it 1826.[6][5]
  • 1896 – verb, to treat gold or silver ores with cyanide.[2]
  • 1966 – verb, to case-harden steel in molten cyanide.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A salt or ester of hydrocyanic acid, containing the CN group; many cyanides are extremely poisonous.[8][4][3]
  2. Potassium cyanide or sodium cyanide in particular.[4]
  3. (chemistry) Another name for a nitrile.[8][3]

Verb

  1. To treat gold or silver ore with a cyanide solution in order to extract the metal.[2][4][3]
  2. To case-harden iron or steel by dipping it in molten cyanide.[2][4][3]

Word family

  • isocyanide
  • platinocyanide
  • ferricyanide
  • ferrocyanide
  • cyanide process
  • methyl cyanide
  • cyan
  • cyanogen

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Cyanide.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/cyanide. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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