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bromide

[broh-mahyd or for 1, broh-mid]
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noun
  1. Chemistry.
    1. a salt of hydrobromic acid consisting of two elements, one of which is bromine, as sodium bromide, NaBr.
    2. a compound containing bromine, as methyl bromide.
  2. Pharmacology. potassium bromide, known to produce central nervous system depression, formerly used as a sedative.
  3. a platitude or trite saying.
  4. a person who is platitudinous and boring.
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Origin of bromide

1830–40; brom- + -ide; in defs 3, 4 from use of some bromides as sedatives
Related formssub·bro·mide, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bromide

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • That first night we had to give her bromide, and she woke very miserable.

    Lotus Buds

    Amy Carmichael

  • He did so, and gave me daily a teaspoonful of bromide of potassium.

    Memoirs

    Charles Godfrey Leland

  • "You'd better take a few doses of bromide," said the detective brusquely.

    The Shrieking Pit

    Arthur J. Rees

  • How could you distinguish between a chloride, a bromide, and an iodide?

  • The first of these is the bleach, or oxidizing mixture of bromide and ferricyanide.

British Dictionary definitions for bromide

bromide

noun
  1. any salt of hydrobromic acid, containing the monovalent ion Br – (bromide ion)
  2. any compound containing a bromine atom, such as methyl bromide
  3. a dose of sodium or potassium bromide given as a sedative
    1. a trite saying; platitude
    2. a dull or boring person
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Word Origin

C19, C20 (cliché): from brom (ine) + -ide
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bromide

n.

compound of bromine and another metal or radical, 1836, from bromine, the pungent, poisonous element, + -ide. Used as a sedative; figurative sense of "dull, conventional person or trite saying" popularized by U.S. humorist Frank Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) in his book "Are You a Bromide?" (1906). Related: Bromidic.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bromide in Medicine

bromide

(brō′mīd′)
n.
  1. A binary compound of bromine with another element, especially a salt containing monovalent negatively charged bromine.
  2. Potassium bromide.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
bromide in Science

bromide

[brō′mīd′]
  1. A compound, such as potassium bromide, containing bromine and another element or radical.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.