arsenic
/ˈɑɹsənɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.23 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A toxic grey brittle nonmetallic chemical element (symbol As) with an atomic number of 33.
Countable; Uncountable
adj
Of or containing arsenic with a valence of 5.
Example Sentences
- "The mining industry also had a hand in two other rollbacks. One was a decision to withdraw a Clinton rule that reduced by 80 percent the permissible standard for arsenic in drinking water."
- "CSPI says the Trump Administration could take steps to protect consumers from each of these chemicals and support FDA’s broader post-market assessment efforts. It could ensure that FDA sets health-protective limits on heavy metals, like lead, arsenic, and cadmium, in foods consumed by children."
Etymology
From Middle English arsenik, borrowed from Middle French arsenic, from Latin arsenicum, from Ancient Greek ἀρσενικόν (arsenikón, “yellow arsenic”) (influenced by ἀρσενικός (arsenikós, “potent, virile”)), from Semitic (compare Classical Syriac ܙܪܢܝܟܐ (zarnīḵā), Aramaic 𐡆𐡓𐡍𐡉𐡊𐡀 (zrnykʾ /zarnīḵā/)), from Middle Iranian *zarnīk (compare Persian زرنیخ (zirnīx /zernix, zarnīx /zarnix, “arsenic”), زرنی (zurnī /zorni), Bakhtiari زرنیق (zarniq)), from Old Median *zaraniyakā (compare Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬀 (zaraniia, “golden”), Old Persian 𐎭𐎼𐎴𐎡𐎹 (d-r-n-i-y /daraniya-/, “gold”), Sanskrit हिरण्य (híraṇya, “gold”), Persian زر (zar, “gold”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃-. More at yellow.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: arsenik, arsenic, arsenicum, ἀρσενικόν, *zaraniyakā, *ǵʰelh₃-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɑɹsənɪk/
- British English: /ˈɑː(ɹ).sə.nɪk/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
armangite
arsane
arsanilic
arsenate
arsenene
arsenetted
arsenian
arseniate
arseniated
arsenicane
arsenicate
arsenicated
Phrases
antimonial arsenic
arsenic bloom
arsenic diiodide
arsenic dioxide
arsenic diphosphide
arsenic disulfide
arsenic disulphide
arsenic glass