Formation of salt names

General layout and case structure

In pharmaceutical terminology, the name of any salt strictly consists of two nouns. The cation is always indicated first — this can be a metal or an organic base. It must be put in the genitive case (Genitivus). Immediately following it is the anion, i.e., the acid residue. It occupies the second position and stands in the nominative case (Nominativus).

This rigid scheme "Cation (Gen.) + Anion (Nom.)" differs from the usual Russian word order. In Russian, we name the anion first, followed by the cation, for example, "нитрат натрия" (sodium nitrate). In Latin, however, the construction is mirrored: Natrii nitras. Here, Natrii is the cation in the genitive case, and nitras is the anion in the nominative. Another classic example is Kalii bromidum, which translates as "potassium bromide".

Salts of oxoacids: suffixes and grammar

Anion names are formed by attaching standard suffixes to the roots of the Latin names of the corresponding acids. The choice of a specific suffix depends directly on the presence of oxygen and the oxidation state.

Two main suffixes are used for oxoacids. The first of them is -as. It is used when referring to the highest oxidation state, and in Russian, it strictly corresponds to the suffix "-ат" (-ate). The second suffix is -is, which indicates the lowest oxidation state and is translated into Russian using "-ит" (-ite).

From a grammatical standpoint, all anions with the suffixes -as and -is belong to the 3rd declension and are exclusively of the masculine gender (masculinum). This is an extremely important nuance: the masculine gender of these words is a strict exception to the general rules for determining the gender of third-declension nouns.

Examples to remember:

• Magnii sulfas (magnesium sulfate) — anion sulfas, atis m.
• Natrii nitris (sodium nitrite) — anion nitris, itis m.

Salts of oxygen-free acids

If a salt is derived from an acid that does not contain oxygen, the Latin name of the anion will include the suffix -idum. In Russian chemical nomenclature, this suffix corresponds to the familiar ending "-ид" (-ide).

The grammatical characteristics of such salts are completely different. Words with the suffix -idum follow the rules of the 2nd declension and always belong to the neuter gender (neutrum).

Representative examples of oxygen-free salts:

• Hydrargyri cyanidum (mercury cyanide).
• Cocaini hydrochloridum (cocaine hydrochloride) — where hydrochloridum acts as the anion, declined according to the pattern chloridum, i n.

Nomenclature of acid and basic salts

To accurately designate the type of salt (whether it is acidic or basic), special prefixes are used in Latin. These prefixes are always attached directly to the anion name, forming a single word with it.

1. Basic salts are designated using the prefix sub-. If we are dealing with a basic salt, the prefix merges with the acid residue. For example, subgallas, atis m translates as "basic gallate". In prescriptions, Bismuthi subnitras (bismuth subnitrate) is frequently encountered.
2. Acid salts are marked with the prefix hydro-. Similarly, it becomes part of the anion name. A striking example is hydrocarbonas, atis m (hydrogen carbonate / bicarbonate). In full nomenclature, this looks like Platyphyllini hydrotartras (platyphylline hydrogen tartrate).

Summary table of suffixes

Class and exam questions

What else to study on this topic

• Declension of 3rd-declension nouns: rules and gender exceptions
• Formation of Latin names of acids
• Rules for writing prescription lines specifying salts
• Latin names of chemical elements and cations

Other topics in the "Salt Names" section

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