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Origin and history of nitrous

nitrous(adj.)

c. 1600, "of nitre, pertaining to nitre," from Latin nitrosus, from nitrum (see nitre). The more precise use in chemistry (designating a compound in which the nitrogen has a lower valence than the corresponding nitric compound) is from 1780s. Middle English had nitrose "nitrous in quality; bitter, sour" (early 15c.). Nitrous oxide "laughing gas" is attested from 1800.

When inhaled it produces unconsciousness and insensibility to pain; hence it is used as an anesthetic during short surgical operations. When it is breathed diluted with air an exhilarating or intoxicating effect is produced under the influence of which the inhaler is irresistibly impelled to do all kinds of silly and extravagant acts; hence the old name of laughing-gas. [Century Dictionary, 1895]

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to nitrous

nitre(n.)

c. 1400, "native sodium carbonate" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French nitre (13c.), from Latin nitrum, from Greek nitron, which is possibly of Eastern origin (compare Hebrew nether "carbonate of soda;" Egyptian ntr). Originally a word for native soda, but also associated since the Middle Ages with saltpeter (potassium nitrate) for obscure reasons; this became the predominant sense by late 16c.

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    Trends of nitrous

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    laughing
    Nitrous oxide has been called laughing gas since 1842 (for its exhilarating effects)....
    gas
    later secondary specialization to "combustible mix of vapors" (1794, originally coal gas); "anesthetic" (1894, originally nitrous...
    fast
    Old English fæst "firmly fixed, steadfast, constant; secure; enclosed, watertight; strong, fortified," probably from Proto-Germanic *fastu- "firm, fast" (source also of Old Frisian fest, Old Norse fastr, Dutch vast, German fest), from PIE root *past- "firm, solid" (source of Sans
    addict
    1530s (implied in addicted) "to devote or give up (oneself) to a habit or occupation," from Latin addictus, past participle of addicere "to deliver, award, yield; make over, sell," properly "give one's assent to," but figuratively "to devote, consecrate; sacrifice, sell out, betr
    stymie
    1857, in golf, "put a player in the position where an opponent's ball is directly in the line of approach to the hole;" from stymie (n.) "condition in which an opponent's ball blocks the line of approach to the hole" (1834). It is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Scottish stymie
    resort
    late 14c., "that to which one has recourse for aid or assistance, source of comfort and solace," from Old French resort "resource, a help, an aid, a remedy," back-formation from resortir "to resort," literally "to go out again," from re- "again" (see re-) + sortir "go out" (see s
    sanguine
    late 14c., "blood-red, of a blood-red color" (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French sanguin (fem. sanguine) and directly from Latin sanguineus "of blood," also "bloody, bloodthirsty," from sanguis (genitive sanguinis) "blood" (see sanguinary). The meaning "cheerful, hopeful, v
    twitterpated
    1942, apparently first attested in the Walt Disney movie "Bambi" (there also was a song by that name but it was not in the studio release of the film), a past-participle adjective formed from twitter in the "tremulous excitement" noun sense (1670s) + pate (n.2) "head" (compare fl
    shebang
    1862 (Whitman), "hut, shed, shelter," American English slang, popularized among soldiers in the U.S. Civil War, but like much of the soldier's slang (e.g. skedaddle, shoddy), it is of uncertain origin. Perhaps it is an alteration of shebeen (q.v.), but shebang meaning "tavern," a
    reciprocal
    1570s, "existing on both sides, exclusive or interchangeable" (of duties, etc.), with -al (1) + stem of Latin reciprocus "returning the same way, alternating," from pre-Latin *reco-proco-, from *recus (from re- "back;" see re-, + -cus, adjective formation) + *procus (from pro- "f

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