nitrogen
UK[ˈnaɪtrədʒən]US[ˈnaɪtrədʒən]
n
A chemical element that is a gas with no color or smell, forms most of the Earth's atmosphere, and is a part of all living things.
Morpheme Breakdown
nitro
gen
nitro
nitre
gen
producer
Etymology
The word 'nitrogen' was coined in French as nitrogène by the chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal in 1790. It was formed by combining 'nitre,' the name for potassium nitrate (a compound from which the gas can be produced), with the Greek-derived suffix '-gen,' meaning "producer." The logic was that this gas is a constituent or "producer" of nitre. While nitrogen gas itself is inert, its name reflects its historical identification through its presence in nitrates and nitrites, compounds crucial to both early chemistry and biological processes like plant growth.
Analysis
Structure: nitro (nitre) + gen (producer)
- nitro: From French nitre, from Latin nitrum, from Greek nitron, meaning "native soda, saltpeter." In this word, it refers to the compound nitre (potassium nitrate).
- gen: From French -gène, from Greek -genēs, meaning "born, produced." It functions as a combining form meaning "that which produces."
Examples
The air we breathe is mostly nitrogen.
Plants need nitrogen from the soil to grow.
Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold and is used to preserve biological samples.