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Webster 1913 Edition
Nitric
Ni′tric
,Adj.
[Cf. F.
nitrique
. See Niter
.] (Chem.)
Of, pertaining to, or containing, nitrogen; specifically, designating any one of those compounds in which, as contrasted with
nitrous
compounds, the element has a higher valence; as,
nitric
oxide; nitric
acid.Nitric acid
, a colorless or yellowish liquid obtained by distilling a nitrate with sulphuric acid. It is powerfully corrosive, being a strong acid, and in decomposition a strong oxidizer.
– Nitric anhydride
, a white crystalline oxide of nitrogen (
– N2O5
), called nitric pentoxide
, and regarded as the anhydride of nitric acid. Nitric oxide
, a colorless poisous gas (
NO
) obtained by treating nitric acid with copper. On contact with the air or with oxygen, it becomes reddish brown from the formation of nitrogen dioxide (NO2
, also called nitric dioxide or nitric peroxide).Webster 1828 Edition
Nitric
NI'TRIC
,Adj.