Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Cyanide |
CyanideNoun1. Any of a class of organic compounds containing the cyano radical -CN. 2. An extremely poisonous salt of hydrocyanic acid. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "cyanide" was first used: 1826. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Medicine | An extremely toxic class of compounds that can be lethal on inhaling of ingesting in minute quantities. Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | Usually refers to cyanide solution in circulation in a mill treating gold or silver ores. The stock or solution is of two main types: barren, from which all possible value has been extracted, and pregs or pregnant, whichis charged with gold or silver and awaits their removal. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the group CN, with the carbon atom triple bonded to the nitrogen atom. Inorganic cyanides contain the highly toxic cyanide ion CN- and are the salts of the acid hydrogen cyanide (HCNCN). Organic cyanides contain the CN group single-bonded to another carbon atom and are also known as nitriles.
Hydrogen cyanide is a colorless gas with a faint, bitter, almond-like odor. Some people are unable to smell cyanide at all, due to a genetic trait. Sodium cyanide (NaCNCN) and potassium cyanide (KCNCN) are both white solids with a bitter, almond-like odor in damp air.
Cyanides can be produced by certain bacteria, fungi, and algae, and are found in a number of foods and plants. Cyanide occurs naturally in cassava roots, which are potato-like tubers of cassava plants grown in tropical countries; these must be processed prior to consumption.
Fruits which have a pit, such as cherries or apricots, often contain some cyanides in the pit. Bitter almonds from which almond oil and flavoring is made also contain cyanide.
Hydrogen cyanide is contained in vehicle exhaust and in tobacco smoke. The smoke of burning plastics contains hydrogen cyanide, and house fires often result in cyanide poisonings. A deep blue pigment called Prussian Blue, used in the making of blueprints, also contains hydrogen cyanide.
Cyanides and hydrogen cyanide are used in electroplating, metallurgy, production of chemicals, photographic development, making plastics, fumigating ships, and some mining processes.
To deal with the cyanides contained in many foods, the body has an enzyme (rhodanide synthetase) which can convert small amounts of cyanides to the harmless sulfur containing thiocyanate (SCNCN−). Cyanides also combine with a chemical to form vitamin B12.
In larger amounts, cyanides are harmful to people. Symptoms of moderate poisoning include vomiting, convulsions, deep breathing, shortness of breath and anxiety; more serious cases result in convulsions, loss of consciousness, and death after apnea and heart arrest.
Exposure to lower levels of cyanide over a long period (e.g. after use of cassava roots as a primary food source in tropical Africa) results in increased blood cyanide levels. These may result in weakness of the fingers and toes, difficulty walking, dimness of vision, deafness, and decreased thyroid gland function, but chemicals other than cyanide may have contributed to these effects. Skin contact with cyanide can produce irritation and sores.
It is not known whether cyanides can directly cause birth defects in people. Birth defects were seen in rats that ate diets of cassava roots. Effects on the reproductive system were seen in rats and mice that drank water containing sodium cyanide.
There are medical tests to measure blood and urine levels of cyanide; however, small amounts of cyanide are not always detectable in blood and urine. Tissue levels of cyanide can be measured if cyanide poisoning is suspected, but cyanide is rapidly cleared from the body, so the tests must be done soon after the exposure. An almond-like odor in the breath may alert a doctor that a person was exposed to cyanide.
Cyanide ion kills all aerobic organisms by shutting down the respiration in cells. It interrupts the electron transport chain in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion because it binds more strongly than oxygen to the Fe+3 in cytochrome a3, preventing this cytochrome from combining electrons with oxygen.
Contrary to popular belief, cyanide does not bind well to ferrous hemoproteins, such as hemoglobin, the mechanism which makes carbon monoxide toxic. One of the therapies for cyanide poisoning is to convert part of the hemoglobin of the blood from ferrous hemoglobin to ferric; this creates a pool of binding potential that can divert cyanide from the cytochromes it poisons. This is done with the compound 4-Dimethylaminophenyl.
The cyanide ion, if used as poison, is generally delivered in the form of gaseous hydrogen cyanide or in the form of potassium cyanide (KCN) or sodium cyanide (NaCN).
Zyklon B, the poison gas used in Nazi gas chambers during the Holocaust, works by delivering hydrogen cyanide gas. Cyanide is also the compound used in US execution chambers.
The cyanide salts are fast acting "suicide pills". When they reach the stomach acids, cyanide ions are released; therefore they work faster on an empty stomach.
Famous cyanide salt suicides include:
Cyanides were stockpiled in both the Soviet and the United States chemical weapons arsenals in the 1950s and 1960s. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was thought to be planning to use hydrogen cyanide as a "blitzkrieg" weapon to clear a path through the opposing front line, knowing that the harmful gas itself would evaporate and allow unprotected access to the captured zone.Appearance
Occurrence and use
Effects on the human body
Mechanism of toxicity and treatment
Use as a poison
Poisoning by cyanide also figures prominently in crime fiction, for example Agatha Christie's Sparkling Cyanide; cyanide is the instrument of one murder in The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Cyanide."
Synonyms: CyanideSynonyms: nitril (n), nitrile (n). (additional references) |
| Synonym by domain: cy (chemistry). |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Bane | Albany hemp, arsenious oxide, arsenious acid; bichloride of mercury; carbonic acid, carbonic gas; choke damp, corrosive sublimate, fire damp; hydrocyanic acid, cyanide, Prussic acid, hydrogen cyanide; marsh gas, nux vomica, ratsbane. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Ten darts: five blue-tipped, five red-tipped - cyanide coating, causing death in thirty seconds. (Moonraker; writing credit: Christopher Wood) Should anything go wrong, cyanide. (Soldaat van Oranje; writing credit: Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema; Kees Holierhoek) | |
Lyrics | But they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide. (Poisoning Pigeons In The Park; performing artist: Tom Lehrer) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Sparkling Cyanide (1983) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
References | |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | The groups are oil waste, solvent waste, paint and varnish waste, glue waste, acid and alkaline waste, waste containing cadmium, waste containing mercury, waste containing heavy metals, waste containing cyanide, waste containing PCBs, pesticide waste and laboratory waste. (references) | |
Economic History | Australia | Key product segments are chlorine, titanium oxide, sodium cyanide, ammonia (industrial), caustic soda, sulphuric acid, and soda ash. (references) |
Political Economy | PHILIPPINES | Subject to other import regulations are certain other items, including firearms and ammunition, used clothing, sodium cyanide, chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and other ozone-depleting substances, penicillin and derivatives, coal and derivatives, color reproduction machines, chemicals for the manufacture of explosives, pesticides, used motor vehicles, and used tires. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Cyanide" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 93.59% of the time. "Cyanide" is used about 78 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 93.59% | 73 | 39,105 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 5.13% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 1.28% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 78 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "cyanide": bromine cyanide ♦ Carbonyl Cyanide m-Chlorophenyl Hydrazone ♦ Carbonyl Cyanide p-Trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone ♦ cyanide group ♦ cyanide hardening ♦ cyanide ion ♦ cyanide of potassium ♦ cyanide poisoning ♦ cyanide process ♦ cyanide radical ♦ cyanide radicle ♦ free cyanide ♦ Hydrogen Cyanide ♦ potassium cyanide ♦ Sodium Cyanide ♦ total cyanide ♦ vinyl cyanide. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "cyanide": cyanide-containing. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "cyanide"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | السيانيد غاز سام. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | цианид. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 氰化物. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | kyanid. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | cyanid(er), cyanid. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | cyanide. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | vapaa syanidi (free cyanide), syankalium (potassium cyanide), syanidointi (cyanide hardening, cyaniding), syanidikarkaisu (cyanide hardening, cyaniding), kokonaissyanidipitoisuus (total cyanide). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | cyanure. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | zyanid. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | κυανιούχο αλάτι, κυανιούχο. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | cianid. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | sianida. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | cianuro. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | '化物 , シアン化物 (Caesar, schema, scheme, shade, shading, shake, shake hands, shaker, shale oil, shape-up, share, shared, shareware, sharing, shaver, shaving, shaving cream, shaving foam, shaving lotion, sheik dollar), シアン化合物 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | せいかぶつ (fruit and vegetables, greengrocery), シアンかぶつ, シアンか"うぶつ. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 시아나이". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | keeaneed. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | yanidecay cianeto. (various references) соль циановой кислоты, цианид (prussiate). (various references) cijanid (prussiate). (various references) cianuro. (various references) cyanid. (various references) siyanür. (various references) ціанід. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | kyanos. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "cyanide": cyanided, cyanides. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "cyanide": ferricyanide, ferrocyanide, platinocyanide. (additional references) | |
Words containing "cyanide": ferricyanides, ferrocyanides, platinocyanides. (additional references) | |
| |
"Cyanide" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Camidge, canidi, Cantidio, Chandio, Cranidge, cyanate, cyanid, cyinide, cynamid, cynide, Cynsige, lyaenidae. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "cyanide" (pronounced sī"unī'd or sī"nī'd) |
| 4 | -u n ī' d | actinide, arsenide. |
| 3 | -n ī' d | actinide, arsenide. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-d-e-i-n-y" | |
-1 letter: cyanid. | |
-2 letters: acidy, acned, candy, caned, canid, dance, decay, dicey, nicad, yince. | |
-3 letters: aced, acid, acne, aide, ayin, cade, cadi, caid, cain, cane, cedi, cine, cyan, dace, dean, deni, deny, dice, dine, dyne, iced, idea, nice, nide, yean. | |
-4 letters: ace, aid, ain, and, ane, ani, any, aye, cad, can, cay, day, den, dey, die. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-d-e-i-n-y" | |
+1 letter: cyanided, cyanides, decaying, deviancy. | |
+2 letters: asyndetic, cyanamide, mendacity, syndicate. | |
+3 letters: accidently, cyanamides, inadequacy, incendiary, indelicacy, mendicancy, syndicated, syndicates. | |
+4 letters: aerodynamic, copyreading, cordwainery, decennially, demonically, determinacy, discrepancy, endemically, hedonically, hemodynamic, identically, medicinally, predynastic, secondarily, tyrannicide. | |
+5 letters: accidentally, aerodynamics, considerably, coordinately, deacidifying, decalcifying, decreasingly, demoniacally, denunciatory, discrepantly, dynamometric, encyclopedia, ferricyanide, ferrocyanide, glycerinated, hemodynamics, hydromancies, inadvertency, incidentally, indelicately, indicatively, ineradicably, intermediacy, mendaciously, occidentally, oleandomycin, pedantically, predominancy, radiolucency, syndactylies, syndetically, tyrannicides. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Non-fiction 7. Usage Frequency 8. Expressions | 9. Expressions: Internet 10. Translations: Modern 11. Translations: Ancient 12. Derivations | 13. Rhymes 14. Anagrams 15. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
