ethyl nitrite

noun

Chemistry.

1. a colorless or yellowish, very volatile, highly aromatic, flammable liquid, C 2 H 2 NO 2 , used chiefly in the preparation of organic substances.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethyl nitrite¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Ethyl nitrite, C2H5NO2, constitutes sweet spirits of nitre when dissolved in alcohol.

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Ethyl nitrite, C2H5�ONO, is a liquid which boils at 18� C.; the crude product obtained by distilling a mixture of alcohol, sulphuric and nitric acids and copper turnings is used in medicine under the name of “sweet spirits of nitre.”

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It is obtained by the distillation of alcohol with nitric and sulphuric acids, and consists essentially of ethyl nitrite with a little acetic aldehyde.

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