bromine (n.)

nonmetallic element, 1827, from French brome, from Greek bromos "stench," a word of unknown etymology. With chemical suffix -ine (2). The evil-smelling dark red liquid was discovered by French chemist Antoine Jérôme Balard (1802-1876), who initially called it muride.

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-ine (2)

word-forming element in chemistry, often interchangeable with -in (2), though modern use distinguishes them; early 19c., from French -ine, the suffix commonly used to form words for derived substances, hence its extended use in chemistry. It was applied unsystematically at first (as in aniline), but now has more restricted use.

The French suffix is from Latin -ina, fem. form of -inus, suffix used to form adjectives from nouns, and thus is identical with -ine (1).

bromide (n.)

compound of bromine and another metal or radical, 1836, from bromine, the pungent, poisonous element, + -ide. Used medicinally as a sedative; figurative sense of "dull, conventional person or trite saying" popularized by U.S. humorist Frank Gelett Burgess in his book "Are You a Bromide?" (1906). Related: Bromidic.

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updated on August 07, 2017

Definitions of bromine from WordNet

bromine (n.)

a nonmetallic heavy volatile corrosive dark brown liquid element belonging to the halogens; found in sea water;

Synonyms: Br / atomic number "

Etymologies are not definitions. From wordnet.princeton.edu, not affiliated with etymonline.

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