dihydrogen monoxide

See also: dihydrogen-monoxide and dihydrogenmonoxide

English

WOTD – 22 March 2019

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /daɪˈhaɪdɹədʒ(ə)n məˈnɒksaɪd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /daɪˈhaɪdɹədʒən məˈnɑkˌsaɪd/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: di‧hy‧dro‧gen mon‧ox‧ide

Noun

dihydrogen monoxide (uncountable)

1. (inorganic chemistry, usually humorous) H₂O, water.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:water

   • 1995, John December, quoting Craig Jackson, The World Wide Web Unleashed, 2nd edition, Indianapolis, Ind.: Sams.net, →ISBN, page 450:

     The Invisible Killer Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there.

   • 1997, Chemistry and Industry, London: Society of Chemical Industry, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 741, column 2:

     There was no point in buying bottled water, he said, dihydrogen monoxide would be in there too, although you could get rid of it by boiling your water for long enough.

   • 1997 April 19, Dennis B[rian Patrick] Roddy, “Internet-inspired prank lands 4 teens in hot water”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, volume 70, number 262, Pittsburgh, Pa.: Block Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1:

     One-by-one the warning fliers turned up in mailboxes around Wylie Heights in North Sewickley, Beaver County: It advised, there is a chemical in your water supply called dihydrogen monoxide. Tasteless and colorless, dihydrogen monoxide was blamed for a trio of ills: severe hydration, frequent urination and possible death. In fact, the flier said, dihydrogen monoxide kills thousands every year. […] Dihydrogen monoxide is the chemical name for water, and a quartet of Riverside High School students are up to their necks in the hot kind after their Internet-inspired prank made dozens of homeowners not readily acquainted with chemical terms hyper over hydro.

   • 2007, Michael Sullivan, III, Statistics: Informed Decisions Using Data, 2nd edition, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, →ISBN, page 39, column 2:

     Many people have joined the cause to ban this substance without realizing that dihydrogen monoxide is simply water (H₂O). Their eagerness to protect the environment or their fear of seeming uninformed may be part of the problem.

Usage notes

The usual systematic name for water is hydrogen oxide, though it is more commonly just referred to as water.

Alternative forms

• dihydrogenmonoxide
• dihydrogen-monoxide
• Abbreviation: DHMO
• Scientific abbreviation 2h1o, H₂O

Translations

water, H₂O — see also water

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 一氧化二氫／一氧化二氢 (yīyǎnghuà'èrqīng)

• Danish: dihydrogenmonoxid c or n
• Dutch: diwaterstofmonoxide (nl) n
• Esperanto: dihidrogenmonoksido
• Finnish: divetymonoksidi (fi)
• French: monoxyde de dihydrogène (fr) m
• German: Dihydrogenmonoxid (de) n
• Hungarian: dihidrogén-monoxid
• Italian: monossido di diidrogeno m
• Japanese: 一酸化二水素 (いっさんかにすいそ, issanka-nisuiso)
• Korean: 일산화이수소(一酸化二水素) (ilsanhwaisuso)
• Polish: monotlenek diwodoru (pl) m
• Portuguese: monóxido de di-hidrogénio m, monóxido de dihidrogênio m
• Romanian: monoxid de dihidrogen m
• Spanish: monóxido de dihidrógeno m
• Thai: ไดไฮโดรเจนมอนอกไซด์ (th) (dai-hai-droo-jên-mɔɔ-nɔ́k-saai)
• Vietnamese: đihiđro monoxit

Further reading

• water on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• dihydrogen monoxide parody on Wikipedia.Wikipedia