Bromate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A salt or ester derived from bromic acid, containing the bromate ion ; a strong oxidizing agent used in chemistry and industrial processes
2. Any compound formed from bromic acid in which the BrO3 group is present ; a powerful oxidizer employed in laboratory and manufacturing settings
3. A chemical salt containing the bromine-oxygen anion from bromic acid ; a substance valued for its oxidizing properties in industry and chemistry

Etymology: Bromate is a chemical word built in two steps from a single element's name. Bromine, the reddish liquid element discovered in 1826 by Antoine Balard, gave rise to "bromic acid," the acid in which bromine atoms are bound to three oxygen atoms. Chemists then attached the suffix "-ate," the same ending that names the salts of many other acids, to turn that acid's name into the name of its salts. The suffix has a longer pedigree than the chemistry. It descends from Latin "-atus," a participial ending that formed adjectives and verbs, and it passed into English largely through the scientific vocabulary of the 18th and 19th centuries. Chemists used it systematically: "sulphate" from sulphuric acid, "nitrate" from nitric acid, and "bromate" follows the same pattern. The result is a word whose meaning comes entirely from its parts, a compound coinage rather than a word with a surprising detour.