Fluoric

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Containing fluorine, or relating to that pale toxic chemical element found in compounds such as fluorite
2. Describing a substance that includes fluorine as one of its constituent elements in chemical makeup
3. Of or pertaining to the element fluorine, particularly in compounds where it is a key component

Etymology: "Fluoric" is simply "fluoro-" with the adjective ending "-ic" attached. The "fluoro-" element is the combining form used in chemistry for fluorine, the pale yellow, highly reactive gas that is the most electronegative of all the elements. Its name comes from "fluor," the old word for a flux or flow, because the mineral fluorite (calcium fluoride) was long used to lower the melting point of ores and metals in smelting. So "fluoric" describes something containing fluorine, especially in the older chemical sense of compounds or acids built on it. The suffix "-ic" follows the same pattern as words like "carbonic" or "sulphuric," where the element name is given an adjectival ending to name a compound.