ammonia

[uh-mohn-yuh, uh-moh-nee-uh] /əˈmoʊn yə, əˈmoʊ ni ə/
noun, Chemistry
1.
a colorless, pungent, suffocating, highly water-soluble, gaseous compound, NH 3 , usually produced by the direct combination of nitrogen and hydrogen gases: used chiefly for refrigeration and in the manufacture of commercial chemicals and laboratory reagents.
2.
Also called ammonia solution, ammonia water, aqua ammoniae, aqua ammonia, aqueous ammonia. this gas dissolved in water; ammonium hydroxide.
Origin
1790-1800; < Neo-Latin, so called as being obtained from sal ammoniac. See ammoniac
Examples from the web for ammonia
  • If the gas is dissolved in water, it is called liquid ammonia.
  • The process takes several months and results in a pungent dish that reeks of fish and ammonia.
  • The ammonia dissolves into the water, and the butane condenses into liquid, which sits atop the water-ammonia mixture.
  • Ammonium hydroxide is a colorless liquid chemical solution that forms when ammonia dissolves in water.
  • Use a commercial jewelry cleaner or make one by adding a drop of ammonia to a mild, lukewarm solution of liquid soap.
  • Damage at a chemical plant was also reported, with hundreds of people buried and tonnes of poisonous liquid ammonia released.
  • Do not use any product with any ammonia in it on a plastic computer screen, it will yellow over time.
  • The radar results point towards ammonia as a likely component, because it absorbs radar signals.
  • Once implemented on an industrial scale, ammonia synthesis enabled the widespread fertilization of croplands for decades hence.
  • The gas giant hosts lightning, winds and clouds of ammonia and water.
British Dictionary definitions for ammonia

ammonia

/əˈməʊnɪə; -njə/
noun
1.
a colourless pungent highly soluble gas mainly used in the manufacture of fertilizers, nitric acid, and other nitrogenous compounds, and as a refrigerant and solvent. Formula: NH3
2.
a solution of ammonia in water, containing the compound ammonium hydroxide
Word Origin
C18: from New Latin, from Latin (sal) ammōniacus (sal) ammoniac1
Word Origin and History for ammonia
n.

1799, Modern Latin, coined 1782 by Swedish chemist Torbern Bergman (1735-1784) for gas obtained from sal ammoniac, salt deposits containing ammonium chloride found near temple of Jupiter Ammon (from Egyptian God Amun) in Libya, from Greek ammoniakos "belonging to Ammon." The shrine was ancient already in Augustus' day, and the salts were prepared "from the sands where the camels waited while their masters prayed for good omens" [Shipley].

There also was a gum form of sal ammoniac, from a wild plant that grew near the shrine, and across North Africa and Asia. A less likely theory traces the name to Greek Armeniakon "Armenian," because the substance also was found in Armenia. Also known as spirit of hartshorn and volatile or animal alkali.

ammonia in Medicine

ammonia am·mo·nia (ə-mōn'yə)
n.
A colorless, pungent gas used to manufacture a wide variety of nitrogen-containing organic and inorganic chemicals.

ammonia in Science
ammonia
  (ə-mōn'yə)   
A colorless alkaline gas that is lighter than air and has a strongly pungent odor. It is used as a fertilizer and refrigerant, in medicine, and in making dyes, textiles, plastics, and explosives. Chemical formula: NH3.