Reagent
/ɹiˈeɪ.d͡ʒənt/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A compound or mixture of compounds used to treat or test materials, samples, other compounds or reactants in a laboratory or sometimes an industrial setting.
- 2 a chemical agent for use in chemical reactions wordnet
Example
More examples"Perchloric acid (HClO₄) is a powerful reagent."
Etymology
Possibly from Latin reagō. Compare with Norwegian Bokmål reagens. The sequence of act → action → agent → agency shows morphologic and semantic parallel, and apparent cognate relation, with react → reaction → reagent → reagency.