Sulphurets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Chemical compounds formed when sulphur combines with another element, often a metal, as in certain minerals and ores
2. Binary substances in which sulphur is chemically bonded to a metal or other element, found in various natural minerals
3. Compounds containing sulphur joined to another element, particularly the metallic sulphides occurring in ores and rocks

Etymology: "Sulphurets" is simply the plural of "sulphuret", an older chemical name for a compound of sulphur with another element. The singular is built from "sulphur" plus the French-derived suffix "-et", a diminutive ending meaning something small or subordinate, so a sulphuret was a sulphur compound with a lesser or more reduced amount of sulphur than the fuller term implied. Chemists used the form in the 18th and 19th centuries, when naming compounds by their elements was becoming systematic. The word has since largely given way to "sulphide" and related terms in modern chemistry, which is why it now sounds antiquated. Its plural survives mainly in older texts and historical discussions of chemical nomenclature.

Synonyms: sulfide, sulphide