bromide

bromide
[19] Potassium bromide is used as a sedative, and it was that which inspired the American humorist Gelett Burgess’s book Are You A Bromide? (1906), in which he metaphoricized bromide as a ‘dull conventional person’. In British English it is the more abstract figurative sense ‘trite or conventional remark’ that has caught on. Bromide was based on bromine [19], the name of a liquid element, which in turn was formed from French brome. The element was so christened, from Greek brōmos ‘stench’, because of its highly irritant and unpleasant smell.

The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins. 2013.

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  • Bromide — Bromide, Verbindungen des Broms mit andern Grundstoffen oder (meist organischen) Radikalen. Von denselben sind besonders die Metallbromide, Salze der Bromwasserstoffsäure und einige organische Bromide bemerkenswert (s. Brom). Viele derselben sind …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • bromide — [brō′mīd΄] n. [ BROM(O) + IDE] 1. a compound in which bromine is combined with a certain element, radical, etc., as silver bromide or methyl bromide 2. potassium bromide, KBr, used in medicine as a sedative ☆ 3. [from association with dullness of …   English World dictionary

  • Bromide — Bro mide, n. 1. (Chem.) A compound of bromine with a positive radical. [1913 Webster] 2. A person who is conventional and commonplace in his habits of thought and conversation. [Slang] [Webster 1913 Suppl.] The bromide conforms to everything… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bromide — Bromide, OK U.S. town in Oklahoma Population (2000): 163 Housing Units (2000): 80 Land area (2000): 0.669281 sq. miles (1.733430 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.669281 sq. miles (1.733430 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Bromide, OK — U.S. town in Oklahoma Population (2000): 163 Housing Units (2000): 80 Land area (2000): 0.669281 sq. miles (1.733430 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.669281 sq. miles (1.733430 sq. km) FIPS code …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • bromide — compound of bromine and another metal or radical, 1836, from BROMINE (Cf. bromine), the pungent, poisonous element, + IDE (Cf. ide). Used as a sedative; figurative sense of dull, conventional person or trite saying popularized by U.S. humorist… …   Etymology dictionary

  • bromide — ► NOUN 1) Chemistry a compound of bromine with another element or group. 2) dated a sedative preparation containing potassium bromide. 3) a trite and unoriginal idea or remark, especially one intended to placate: I was too hard headed to accept… …   English terms dictionary

  • Bromide — Bromide, s. Brommetalle …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Bromide — Bromīde, s. Brom …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • bromide — ● bromide nom féminin Lésion cutanée due à une intoxication chronique par des médicaments à base de brome ou de ses dérivés, du type bromure …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Bromide — Bromide,   Singular Bromid das, (e)s, Bromverbindungen.   …   Universal-Lexikon

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