Affixes

Nitrogen (Greek genes, -born) was so named because it is a component of nitre, an old name for saltpetre. The adjectives nitrous and nitric can generally refer to nitrogen, but in chemistry the former has a specific meaning of monovalent nitrogen (as in nitrous oxide, N₂O), while the latter refers to nitrogen in higher combining states (as in nitric oxide, NO, or nitric acid, HNO₃). Salts of nitrous acid are nitrites, those of nitric acid are nitrates. Nitriles are cyanides derived from alkanes, straight-chain hydrocarbons; nitrides are compounds of metals with nitrogen. Nitroso compounds contain the nitrosyl radical -NO, for example nitrosamines, compounds containing the group =NNO attached to two organic groups.

The prefix nitro‑ occurs in the names of many organic compounds, usually indicating the presence of one or more nitro groups, -NO₂, the introduction of which into a compound is nitration: nitrobenzene is a yellow oily liquid made by nitrating benzene; nitrocellulose is a highly flammable material made by treating cellulose with concentrated nitric acid, used to make explosives and celluloid. See also azo‑.