G agent
- noun
- /dʒiː ˈeɪdʒənt/
- NSFW
:
agente G
- Sarin is a well-known example of a G agent developed during World War II.
Examples
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Protective clothing is necessary when handling any G agent due to their extreme toxicity.
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The military stored large quantities of G agents in secure facilities until their destruction.
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Sarin is a well-known example of a G agent developed during World War II.
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The G agent is dangerous.
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The military stockpiled G agents during the war.
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Protective clothing is necessary when handling any G agent due to their extreme toxicity.
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The military stored large quantities of G agents in secure facilities until their destruction.
Synonyms
13
8.8
A very poisonous chemical used as a weapon that stops the nerves from working and makes people stop breathing
A very strong poison that attacks the nerves, like sarin, used as a weapon
A very poisonous chemical weapon like sarin or tabun that stops nerves working quickly
Surface Forms
Morphology
G + agent
The element 'G' here is an arbitrary letter/code and does not itself convey the specialized notion of a nerve or chemical weapon, while 'agent' only gives a very general sense of a substance that produces an effect. Because the technical meaning ('a class of nerve agents') cannot be derived from knowing the constituents, this term is opaque to a B1 learner.
Etymology
G agent gets its name from early work by German scientists; the first of these deadly nerve chemicals were made in Germany before World War II. Here G points to 'Germany' and agent means a 'substance' used as a weapon, so the name now refers to this group of very toxic nerve chemicals.