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Glite Dictionary
selenous acid

selenous acid

9.8
An acid that contains selenium and people use in labs, sometimes in medicine, and to make glass and pigments
  • noun
  • /səˈliːnəs ˈæsɪd/
  • Specialized
: ácido selenioso
  • Because of its oxidizing properties, selenous acid must be handled with care.

Examples

  • In the laboratory, the technician mixed selenous acid with other chemicals to create a new pigment.

  • The chemist carefully measured out selenous acid for the laboratory experiment.

  • Selenous acid is sometimes used to treat or prevent selenium deficiency in medical applications.

  • The chemist used selenous acid in the experiment.

  • Many selenous acids are used in industrial applications.

  • Selenous acid can be utilized as an oxidizing agent in various chemical reactions.

  • When working with selenous acid, it is important to wear proper protective equipment due to its reactive nature.

Synonyms

selenious acid
vsselenous acid
  • Specialized
9.5

A white, water-soluble acid that chemists use to make and test other chemicals

emphasizes dibasic acid nature and use as oxidizing agent in pigment and glass manufacture

Surface Forms

selenous acid singular
selenous acids plural

Morphology

selenous + acid

The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun chemical name: if a learner knows 'selenous' means 'of or containing selenium' and 'acid' means a corrosive substance, they can infer 'an acid containing selenium'. The term is compositional and not idiomatic, though 'selenous' is a low-frequency, technical adjective (absent from the provided dictionary) so typical B1 learners may not know that constituent without exposure.

Etymology

Selenous acid takes its name from selenium, the chemical element whose name comes from the ancient Greek word 'Selene', meaning 'moon'. So selenous means 'of selenium' and acid shows it is an acid formed from that element.