Zyklon A

1 9.9

A poisonous pesticide first made in Germany in the early 1900s

noun

Archaic

: Zyklon A

The researchers tested Zyklon A for effectiveness against different insect pests in stored grain.

Examples

Safety protocols were required when handling Zyklon A due to its toxic properties.
In the 1920s, Zyklon A was one of several pesticides produced by German chemical companies.
The chemical Zyklon A was used as a pesticide.
Farmers in Germany used Zyklon A to protect their crops.
In the 1920s, Zyklon A was one of several pesticides produced by German chemical companies.
Safety protocols were required when handling Zyklon A due to its toxic properties.
The researchers tested Zyklon A for effectiveness against different insect pests in stored grain.

Surface Forms

Zyklon A singular

Zyklon As plural

Morphology

Zyklon + A

This is a proper product name (a historical pesticide) whose specific chemical meaning cannot be derived from the parts: 'Zyklon' is not a productive English lexical item here and 'A' is just a letter/variant marker, so knowing those constituents would not lead a B1 learner to infer 'a pesticide containing methyl cyanoformate.' The referential and historical nature of the name (brand/trade name) makes its meaning unpredictable and language-specific, so it is opaque to learners.

Etymology

Zyklon A gets its name from the German word Zyklon meaning 'cyclone', because the product was a gas that spread through the air. The letter A marked the first formula, so the name came to mean this specific poisonous 'pesticide'.