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Glite Dictionary
cyanogen

cyanogen

1 9.9
A gas with no color that smells like almonds and is very poisonous
  • noun
  • /ˈsaɪənədʒən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cianógeno
  • During World War I, cyanogen was used as a chemical weapon due to its toxic properties.
  • cyanogen radical

Examples

  • The first discovery came when it was found almost ridiculously easy to make amino acids and other precursors to living matter from abundant molecules such as methane, ammonia, and cyanogen.

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  • And did you know that cyanogen is poisonous?

  • Did you know that cyanogen is a colorless gas that has a pungent, almond-like odor and is extremely toxic?

  • In chemical manufacturing, cyanogen is utilized to create various organic compounds.

Surface Forms

cyanogen singular
cyanogens plural

Morphology

cyanogen = cyan (semi-transparent) = cyan + ogen

The element 'cyan' is recognizable, but '-ogen' is a technical chemical formative, so the specific chemical meaning is not apparent to general learners.

Etymology

Cyanogen comes from the Greek parts cyan- meaning 'blue' and -gen meaning 'to produce', as in the common word generate. It was named because some related chemicals make a deep blue color, so the name shows that blue connection even though the gas itself is colourless and very poisonous.