Dibrominated

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having had two bromine atoms chemically attached to a molecule, as in a brominated organic compound
2. Describing a substance into which two bromine atoms have been introduced through a substitution or addition reaction
3. Modified by the addition of a pair of bromine atoms to its chemical structure

Etymology: "Dibrominated" is a plain chemical coinage, built by joining the prefix "di-" ("two", from Greek "dis", "twice") to "brominated," the past participle of "brominate." To brominate a compound is to introduce bromine atoms into its molecules, so "dibrominated" describes a molecule that has picked up two of them. The base word follows the same pattern. "Bromine" was named in 1826 by the French chemist Antoine Balard, from Greek "bromos," meaning "stench," a reference to its sharp, unpleasant smell. Chemists then formed verbs such as "brominate" on that name, using the standard suffixes for adding an element to a substance, and "dibrominated" follows the same route.