ScienceAugust 16, 2026
nitrous
NY-truhs
Definition
Relating to or containing nitrogen, especially in the context of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.
Etymology
Derived from 'nitre' (an older term for potassium nitrate) combined with the chemical suffix '-ous,' which denotes a lower valence state in chemical compounds.
In the news
The article uses the word to describe 'nitrous oxide,' a potent greenhouse gas that is produced as a byproduct of the chemical reactions occurring in the deep, anoxic zones of the Black Sea.
At the bottom of the Black Sea, below about 150 metres, the water contains no oxygen at all, and shipwrecks preserved in that dead zone include a 2,400-year-old Greek merchant vessel found in 2018 with its mast, rudder and rowing benches still intact on the
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