chloride

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the negatively charged chlorine ion, Cl−, found in many salts and serving as an important electrolyte in body fluids

   The laboratory measured the chloride concentration in the water sample.

2. 2
   noun

   a compound in which chlorine is combined with another element or chemical group, such as sodium chloride or acetyl chloride

   Sodium chloride is the principal salt dissolved in seawater.

Formed from chlorine + -ide and introduced by Humphry Davy in 1812. In chemical naming, -ide marks a simple negative ion or the more electronegative component of a compound, as in chloride.

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