nitro

Forms

nitro m (plural nitri)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin nitrum (“native soda, an alkali”), which is from Ancient Greek νίτρον (nítron).^[2][3][4][5] The word is also French nitre, recorded from the 13th century, and Spanish nitro.^[5][3] In Latin the name covered various alkalis, mainly soda and potash, and probably seldom the substance now called nitre.^[6]

The Greek word is of eastern origin.^[2][7] Nocentini calls it a travelling word that starts from Egyptian nṯrj and is found in the Semitic languages, and DEI calls the Egyptian source probable.^[3][5] The same eastern word, through Arabic, is the source of New Latin natrium, the scientific name of sodium.^[3]

Many of the chemical derivatives reached Italian at least partly through French, such as French nitrate and French nitrique (both 1787), or through English, such as English nitroglycerine (1857).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Cavalca, before 1342, for the naturally occurring potassium nitrate found in hollows in limestone or as crusts and efflorescences.^[2] Tommaseo quotes him: “come li corpi per lo nitro, ch'è cosa che mondifica, così l'anime per le 'nfermitadi si purificano” (“as bodies are cleansed by nitre, which is a thing that cleanses, so souls are purified by illness”).^[8]

Semantic evolution

The adjective nitroso is older still: Brunetto Latini uses it before 1294 with reference to nitre in general.^[2] A work on minerals after Albertus Magnus, quoted by Tommaseo, says that nitre is named after an island Nitrea, where it was first found.^[8]

With modern chemistry the word gave a large family: nitrato (1696), nitrico (1791), nitrogeno (1828) and, as a first element nitro-, many compounds of 19th- and 20th-century chemistry.^[2][5] Treccani notes that nitro itself is now an old name for potassium nitrate, usually called salnitro, and survives in derivatives where it means “nitrogen” or “nitrate”.^[9][10] Nitro del Cile is the mineral sodium nitrate.^[4][11][10]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses nitroso of nitre.^[2]
• Before 1342 – Cavalca uses nitro.^[2][11]
• 1696 – Nitrato is recorded.^[2]
• 1791 – Nitrico is recorded.^[2]
• 1828 – Nitrogeno is recorded.^[5]
• 1857 – DEI dates nitroglicerina.^[2][5]
• 1875 – Lessona records nitroglicerina.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (chemistry, dated) nitre, saltpetre: potassium nitrate, also called salnitro.^{[7][12][9][1]}
2. (mineralogy) The mineral potassium nitrate, white and very soluble, formed in the soils of hot, dry regions: nitro del Cile (Chile saltpetre, sodium nitrate).^[4][11][7]

Word family

• nitrato
• nitratore
• nitrazione
• nitrico
• nitrificazione
• nitrito
• nitrocellulosa
• nitroglicerina
• nitroso
• nitrurazione
• nitruro

Related words

• salnitro
• Latin nitrum

Usage notes

Nitro is also a short form of nitroglicerina, feminine and invariable in this use.^[1][7] Devoto–Oli records a figurative alla nitro, of remarks that are explosive or caustic.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2589
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse