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cyanide

noun

  1. any chemical compound with cyanide anion
L319015 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈsaɪənaɪd/

noun

Etymology: From cyan- + -ide.

  1. Any compound containing the -C≡N group or the CN⁻ anion.
  2. Sodium or potassium cyanide, used in the extraction of gold and silver or as a poison.

    The birdies all try an' hide / But they still go for peanuts / When coated with cyanide

    Two doctors and a metallurgist from Scotland patented a process for dissolving gold with cyanide in 1887 and patented the recovery of gold from solution using finely divided zinc (zinc precipitation) the following year. […] The first commercial processing plant to use cyanide in the milling circuit was constructed at the Crown mine at Karangahake, New Zealand in 1889.

  3. Hydrogen cyanide, or cyanide gas, a poisonous gas.

verb

Etymology: From cyan- + -ide.

  1. To treat or poison with cyanide.