cyanogen
(noun) a colorless toxic gas with a pungent almond odor; has been used in chemical warfare
Source: WordNet® 3.1
cyanogen (countable and uncountable, plural cyanogens)
(organic compound) The pseudohalogen (CN)2; a colourless, poisonous gas used as a rocket propellant, an insecticide and in chemical warfare.
Synonyms: ethanedinitrile, oxalonitrile, dicyanogen, nitriloacetonitrile
(chemistry) The radical -CN.
Source: Wiktionary
Cy*an"o*gen (s-n"-jn), n. Etym: [Gr. -gen: cf. F. cyanogène. So called because it produced blue dyes.] (Chem.)
Definition: A colorless, inflammable, poisonous gas, C2N2, with a peach- blossom odor, so called from its tendency to form blue compounds; obtained by heating ammonium oxalate, mercuric cyanide, etc. It is obtained in combination, forming an alkaline cyanide when nitrogen or a nitrogenous compound is strongly ignited with carbon and soda or potash. It conducts itself like a member of the halogen group of elements, and shows a tendency to form complex compounds. The name is also applied to the univalent radical, CN (the half molecule of cyanogen proper), which was one of the first compound radicals recognized.
Note: Cyanogen is found in the commercial substances, potassium cyanide, or prussiate of potash, yellow prussiate of potash, Prussian blue, Turnbull's blue, prussic acid, etc.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
15 May 2025
(adjective) excessively unwilling to spend; “parsimonious thrift relieved by few generous impulses”; “lived in a most penurious manner--denying himself every indulgence”
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
