calcium cyanamide

noun

1. a gray-black, often lumpy powder, CaCN 2 , unstable in water, obtained by heating calcium carbide and nitrogen; cyanamide: used chiefly as a fertilizer, herbicide, and intermediate in the synthesis of nitrogen compounds.

calcium cyanamide

noun

1. a white crystalline compound formed by heating calcium carbide with nitrogen. It is important in the fixation of nitrogen and can be hydrolysed to ammonia or used as a fertilizer. Formula: CaCN 2

Word History and Origins

Origin of calcium cyanamide¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Heated in the electric furnace in a current of air, it yields calcium cyanamide (see Cyanamide).

From Project Gutenberg