calomel

English

Etymology

From French calomel.

Noun

calomel (countable and uncountable, plural calomels)

1. (inorganic chemistry) Mercurous chloride Hg₂Cl₂, formerly used as a laxative and disinfectant and to treat syphilis.
   • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 190:

     What a pity there is not some mental calomel! for Mr. Lushington's equanimity was in a bilious fever with Edward Lorraine's appearance of luxurious enjoyment.

   • 1859, Charles Dickens, The Haunted House:

     “Where am I?” said the little spectre, in a pathetic voice. “And why was I born in the Calomel days, and why did I have all that Calomel given me?”

   • 1919, Laura Fletcher Hodges, Early Indianapolis, page 23:

     He is remembered for his free use of calomel and the lancet. Mrs. Jane Merrill Ketcham, one of his patients in her childhood, says “it is no exaggeration to say that his pills were as large as cherries; twenty grains of calomel was a common dose and antimony until one was sure he was poisoned.”

Derived terms

• calomel electrode

Translations

mercurous chloride

• Esperanto: kalomelo
• Finnish: kalomeli (fi)
• French: calomel (fr) m
• Italian: calomelano m
• Romanian: calomel (ro) n
• Russian: каломе́ль (ru) f (kalomélʹ)
• Turkish: kalomel (tr)

Further reading

• David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Calomel”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
• “calomel”, in Mindat.org‎^[1], Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2024.

Anagrams

• Comella

French

Etymology

From calomélas, a compound of Ancient Greek καλός (kalós, “beautiful”) and μέλας (mélas, “black”), likely due to its reaction with ammonia, which produces elemental mercury and yields a dark color.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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Noun

calomel m (usually uncountable, plural calomels)

1. (inorganic chemistry) calomel

Further reading

• “calomel”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French calomel.

Noun

calomel n (uncountable)

1. calomel

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	calomel	calomelul
genitive-dative	calomel	calomelului
vocative	calomelule