Chapter Ninut to Nitrometer of N by Webster's Dictionary (1913 Edition)

2. Gay; spruce; fine; — said of persons. [R.] T. Reeve.

Nitranilic
(Ni`tra*nil"ic) a. [Nitro- + chloranil + -ic.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a complex organic acid produced as a white crystalline substance by the action of nitrous acid on hydroquinone.

Nitraniline
(Ni*tran"i*line) n. [Nitro- + aniline.] (Chem.) Any one of a series of nitro derivatives of aniline. In general they are yellow crystalline substances.

Nitrate
(Ni"trate) n. [Cf. F. nitrate.] (Chem.) A salt of nitric acid.

Nitrate of silver, a white crystalline salt used in photography and as a cauterizing agent; - - called also lunar caustic.

Nitrated
(Ni"tra*ted) a.

1. (Chem.) Combined, or impregnated, with nitric acid, or some of its compounds.

2. (Photog.) Prepared with nitrate of silver.

Nitratine
(Ni"tra*tine) n. (Min.) A mineral occurring in transparent crystals, usually of a white, sometimes of a reddish gray, or lemon-yellow, color; native sodium nitrate. It is used in making nitric acid and for manure. Called also soda niter.

Nitre
(Ni"tre) n. (Chem.) See Niter.

Nitriary
(Ni"tri*a*ry) n. [See Niter.] An artificial bed of animal matter for the manufacture of niter by nitrification. See Nitrification, 2.

Nitric
(Ni"tric) a. [Cf. F. nitrique. See Niter.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or containing, nitrogen; specifically, designating any one of those compounds in which, as contrasted with nitrous compounds, the element has a higher valence; as, nitric oxide; nitric acid.

Nitric acid, a colorless or yellowish liquid obtained by distilling a nitrate with sulphuric acid. It is powerfully corrosive, being a strong acid, and in decomposition a strong oxidizer. — Nitric anhydride, a white crystalline oxide of nitrogen called nitric pentoxide, and regarded as the anhydride of nitric acid. — Nitric oxide, a colorless poisous gas (NO) obtained by treating nitric acid with copper. On contact with the air or with oxygen, it becomes reddish brown from the formation of nitric dioxide or peroxide.

Nitride
(Ni"tride) n. [fromNitrogen.] (Chem.) A binary compound of nitrogen with a more metallic element or radical; as, boric nitride.

Nitriferous
(Ni*trif"er*ous) a. [Niter + -ferous.] Bearing niter; yielding, or containing, niter.

Nitrification
(Ni`tri*fi*ca"tion) n. [Cf. F. nitrification. see Nitrify.]

1. (Chem.) (a) The act, process, or result of combining with nitrogen or some of its compounds. (b) The act or process of oxidizing nitrogen or its compounds so as to form nitrous or nitric acid.

2. A process of oxidation, in which nitrogenous vegetable and animal matter in the presence of air, moisture, and some basic substances, as lime or alkali carbonate, is converted into nitrates.

The process is going on at all times in porous soils and in water contaminated with nitrogenous matter, and is supposed to be due to the presence of an organized ferment or ferments, called nitrification ferments. In former times the process was extensively made use of in the production of saltpeter.

Nitrifier
(Ni"tri*fi`er) n. (Chem.) An agent employed in nitrification.