Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A nonmetallic element that constitutes nearly four-fifths of the air by volume, occurring as a colorless, odorless, almost inert diatomic gas, N2, in various minerals and in all proteins and used in a wide variety of applications, including manufacture of ammonia, nitric acid, TNT, and fertilizers, and as a cryogen. Atomic number 7; atomic weight 14.0067; melting point −210.00°C; boiling point −195.80°C; valence 2, 3, 4, 5. cross-reference: Periodic Table.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The boiling-point of liquid nitrogen under ordinary atmospheric pressure is -194.4° C. or -317.9° F. For the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by growing plants, see nitragin.
  • noun Chemical symbol, N; atomic weight, 14. An element existing in nature as a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, reducible to a liquid under extreme pressure and cold.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) A colorless nonmetallic element of atomic number 7, tasteless and odorless, comprising four fifths of the atmosphere by volume in the form of molecular nitrogen (N2). It is chemically very inert in the free state, and as such is incapable of supporting life (hence the name azote still used by French chemists); but it forms many important compounds, such as ammonia, nitric acid, the cyanides, etc, and is a constituent of all organized living tissues, animal or vegetable. Symbol N. Atomic weight 14.007. It was formerly regarded as a permanent noncondensible gas, but was liquefied in 1877 by Cailletet of Paris, and Pictet of Geneva, and boils at -195.8 ° C at atmospheric pressure. Liquid nitrogen is used as a refrigerant to store delicate materials, such as bacteria, cells, and other biological materials.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable A chemical element (symbol N) with an atomic number of 7 and atomic weight of 14.0067.
  • noun uncountable Molecular nitrogen (N2), a colorless, odorless gas at room temperature.
  • noun countable A specific nitrogen within a chemical formula, or a specific isotope of nitrogen

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French nitrogène : nitro-, nitric acid (from New Latin; see nitro–) + -gène, -gen.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French nitrogène (coined by Lavoisier), corresponding to nitro- + -gen.

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Examples

  • From a Chemical & Engineering News account at the time: "While some depictions are chemically accurate -- such as nitrogen, which shows a rooted elephant drawing nitrogen from the soil -- others are more a play on the names -- for example, the masked Lone Ranger atop a rearing white elephant representing silver."

    Science Maxine 2009

  • From a Chemical & Engineering News account at the time: "While some depictions are chemically accurate -- such as nitrogen, which shows a rooted elephant drawing nitrogen from the soil -- others are more a play on the names -- for example, the masked Lone Ranger atop a rearing white elephant representing silver."

    July 2008 Maxine 2008

  • From a Chemical & Engineering News account at the time: "While some depictions are chemically accurate -- such as nitrogen, which shows a rooted elephant drawing nitrogen from the soil -- others are more a play on the names -- for example, the masked Lone Ranger atop a rearing white elephant representing silver."

    Table of the elephants Maxine 2008

  • From a Chemical & Engineering News account at the time: "While some depictions are chemically accurate -- such as nitrogen, which shows a rooted elephant drawing nitrogen from the soil -- others are more a play on the names -- for example, the masked Lone Ranger atop a rearing white elephant representing silver."

    Table of the elephants Maxine 2008

  • Natural gas is used to synthesize the basic ammonia building block in nitrogen fertilizers.

    The Oil Intensity of Food 2009

  • Instead of "vilifying agriculture," it seems the filmmakers worked hard to focus on farmer-based solutions-like those of brothers Dick and Jack Gerhardt, who created a tool that assesses how much nitrogen is needed in a given field by reading chlorophyll levels.

    Paula Crossfield: The Troubled Waters of Big Ag's Academic Influence Paula Crossfield 2010

  • My other thought — could the ground there be too high in nitrogen?

    Incredible Creeping Phlox « Sugar Creek Gardens’ Blog 2009

  • These items contained tremendous levels of nitrogen, and as you know nitrogen is one of the key elements that will feed our organic vegetables and make the ground absolutely fantastic for our organic gardening.

    May Vol | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

  • In it Eiros describes to Charmion (both dead) how the world ended due to loss of nitrogen from the atmosphere.

    The History of Science Fiction - The 19th Century | Solar Flare: Science Fiction News 2008

  • Root nodules are able to take nitrogen from the air to form ammonia, which is used by plants to synthesize amino acids, nucleotides and other cellular components.

    Sharon R. Long: Science under the Obama Administration Peggy 2008

  • Now, two groups of scientists have independently published research on what they have both called ‘black nitrogen’ – a transparent and crystalline allotrope of nitrogen formed at very high pressures and temperatures.

    New high pressure allotrope of nitrogen solves a chemical mystery Tom Metcalfe 2020

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  • N.

    December 16, 2007