Chloridic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or containing chloride, a negatively charged ion or a salt derived from chlorine
2. Describing a compound or substance that includes chloride ions as a component
3. Of or pertaining to chloride, the chemical compound or ion formed from chlorine

Etymology: "Chloridic" is simply "chloride" with the adjectival suffix "-ic" attached, and it describes something relating to or containing chloride, the compound ion or salt of chlorine. Its meaning follows directly from its parts, so the word works as a plain chemical adjective, the kind of technical formation chemists produce whenever they need a quick descriptor for a specific class of compound. The base word "chloride" itself is the more interesting piece. It was coined in the early nineteenth century from "chlorine," a name that came from the Greek "khlōros," meaning pale green or yellow-green, a reference to the gas's colour. Adding "-ic" then gives the sense "of or pertaining to" chloride, in the same way "sulphuric" and "nitric" are built from their element names.