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Webster 1913 Edition


Nitrous

Ni′trous

,
Adj.
[L.
nitrosus
full of natron: cf. F.
nitreux
. See
Niter
.]
1.
Of, pertaining to, or containing, niter; of the quality of niter, or resembling it.
2.
(Chem.)
Of, pertaining to, or designating, any one of those compounds in which nitrogen has a relatively lower valence as contrasted with nitric compounds.
Nitrous acid
(Chem.)
,
a hypothetical acid of nitrogen
HNO2
, not known in the free state, but forming a well known series of salts, viz., the nitrites.
–
Nitrous oxide
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Nitrous

NI'TROUS

,
Adj.
Pertaining to niter; partaking of the qualities of niter, or resembling it. Nitrous acid is one of the compounds formed of nitrogen and oxygen, in which the oxygen is in a lower proportion than that in which the same elements form nitric acid.