Trichlorinated

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having three chlorine atoms substituted into a molecule, typically in place of hydrogen atoms in an organic compound
2. Describing a chemical compound in which three hydrogen atoms have been replaced by chlorine atoms
3. Treated or combined so that three chlorine atoms are attached to a molecular structure, as in certain solvents

Etymology: "Trichlorinated" is a plain chemical formation: the prefix "tri-", from Greek "treis" meaning three, joined to "chlorinated", the past participle of "chlorinate". Together they describe a compound into which three chlorine atoms have been introduced, or one that has been treated so as to carry three of them. The base word follows the same pattern. "Chlorine" was named in 1810 by Humphry Davy from the Greek "chlōros", meaning pale green, a reference to the colour of the gas. "Chlorinate" then took the common chemical suffix "-ate", used to form verbs for adding a substance to something, and "-ed" marks the participle. The prefix "tri-" is the same numerical element found in "triangle" and "tricycle", and it is used in chemistry to name compounds bearing three of a given group, so "trichloro-" follows the pattern of "dichloro-" and "tetrachloro-".