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chlorine definition

chlo·rine (klôr′ēn′, -in)

noun

a greenish-yellow, poisonous, gaseous chemical element, one of the halogens, having a disagreeable odor and obtained by electrolysis of certain chlorides: it is used as a bleaching agent, in water purification, in various industrial processes, etc.: symbol, Cl; at. no., 17

Etymology: < Gr chlōros, pale green (< IE *ghlō-, var. of base *ghel-: see yellow) + -ine: so named (1810) by Sir Humphry Davy, who proved it to be an element, for its color

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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