Ammon

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A colorless, pungent gas used in various industrial applications and often associated with fertilizers or cleaning products
2. A compound containing nitrogen that is crucial for plant growth and is frequently utilized in agriculture
3. A gaseous substance with a strong odor that plays a vital role in multiple industries and is commonly linked to agricultural fertilizers

Etymology: The name starts in ancient Egypt as "jmn," the god Amun, the chief deity of Thebes. Greek writers adapted him as Ammon, and Latin took that form over. The same name also appears in Hebrew, where it belonged to a neighbouring people east of the Jordan. The link to the gas runs through a salt. Near the god's oracle shrine in the Siwa oasis of Libya, a salt could be gathered from the ground, and it became known as "sal ammoniacus," or "salt of Ammon." When this salt was heated, it released a sharp-smelling gas, and that gas took its name from the salt, ammonia. The pungent colourless gas is therefore named after an Egyptian god through a Libyan oasis and a Latin phrase.

Synonyms: ammonium, ammonia