quaternary ammonium compound

quaternary ammonium compound

noun Chemistry.
any of a class of salts derived from ammonium in which the nitrogen atom is attached to four organic groups, as in benzalkonium chloride; the salts are cationic surface-active compounds used as antiseptics and disinfectants.
Also called quaternary ammonium salt.


Origin:
1815–25

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World English Dictionary
quaternary ammonium compound
 
n
a type of ionic compound that can be regarded as derived from ammonium compounds by replacing the hydrogen atoms with organic groups

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Quaternary ammonium compound is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
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