[Ads-l] dihydrogen monoxide (UNCLASSIFIED)
Michael Quinion
michael.quinion at WORLDWIDEWORDS.ORG
Fri Mar 25 09:07:42 UTC 2016
On a not wholly unrelated topic, the /Guardian/ this morning apologised
for mentioning /oxygenated water/ in a report on the Brussels bombers.
This might have suggested that the bombers subscribed to a current
health fad for drinking water infused with oxygen under pressure. It was
actually a direct translation of the French /eau oxygénée/, which in
English is hydrogen peroxide. (Strictly, an aqueous solution of hydrogen
peroxide: the neat stuff is /peroxyde d'hydrogène/.)
--
Michael Quinion, World Wide Words
http://www.worldwidewords.org
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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