prussic
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of prussic
First recorded in 1780–90; prussic acid
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the early 1900s, buyers had to sign for drugs they bought from a chemist, but the prosecution pointed out that the signature for the prussic acid didn't match the one on Orme's letters.
From BBC • Jan. 13, 2024
Christopher Logue, a master of anachronisms whose translations of the Iliad are collected in “War Music,” experimented with “the prussic glare,” which sounds alchemical, and “ash-eyed,” which has a matte quality.
From The New Yorker • Jan. 7, 2019
Following the trail of a prussic acid theft, Sergeant Bell of Scotland Yard blunders his way into an inspectorship, following his self-denied solution of the crime.
From Time Magazine Archive
Woolen and silk clothes, rugs and furnishings produce prussic acid and ammonia as well as carbon monoxide and dioxide.
From Time Magazine Archive
Since 1808 the European colossus had worn about his neck as a kind of amulet a little bag which was said to contain a deadly poison, one of the salts of prussic acid.
From The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte Vol. IV. (of IV.) by Sloane, William Milligan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
