Stannic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or containing tin in its tetravalent form, as in stannic chloride or stannic oxide
2. Of, pertaining to, or composed of tin in its four-valence oxidation state, commonly found in inorganic compounds
3. Designating or derived from tin in its highest oxidation state, used in chemistry to distinguish from stannous compounds

Etymology: "Stannic" is built from "stann-", the combining form of the Latin "stannum," meaning tin, with the adjectival suffix "-ic" attached. The result is a chemical adjective: stannic describes compounds of tin in which the element has its higher valence, as opposed to the lower-valence "stannous" forms. The pattern is a familiar one in chemistry. Naming schemes for metals often pair a Latin-derived stem with "-ic" for the higher oxidation state and "-ous" for the lower, so that iron has ferric and ferrous, copper has cupric and cuprous, and tin has stannic and stannous. The "stann-" root itself is the same Latin word that gave English its chemical symbol, Sn, which points back to "stannum" as the older name for the metal.

Synonyms: tin-based