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Glite Dictionary
lead arsenate

lead arsenate

9.9
A poisonous white chemical once used to kill insects on crops
  • noun
  • /lɛd ˈɑːrsəneɪt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : arseniato de plomo
  • In the 1950s, when lead arsenate pesticides were used heavily on tobacco farms, arsenic concentrations were recorded as high as 1.4g per cigarette.
  • use lead arsenate

Examples

  • Lead arsenate was commonly used as an insecticide lead arsenate until its dangerous effects were discovered.

  • Farmers applied lead arsenate to control pests, but it was later banned due to its harmful properties.

  • In earlier agricultural practices, lead arsenate served as a potent pesticide before its toxicity was recognized.

Surface Forms

lead arsenate singular
lead arsenates plural

Morphology

lead + arsenate

The name 'lead arsenate' is transparently compositional: it combines the metal 'lead' with the anion 'arsenate', so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it is a chemical compound made of lead and arsenic. This follows regular chemical naming patterns (metal + oxyanion) that are predictable across languages, so the core meaning is derivable even if specific details (formula, toxicity, historical use) require extra knowledge.

Etymology

Lead arsenate is made from two words: lead and arsenate, with arsenate coming from the poisonous element arsenic. Farmers once dusted fruit trees with this white powder to kill insects, so the name today refers to that 'poisonous' insecticide.