From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisharsenicar‧se‧nic /ˈɑːsənɪk $ ˈɑːr-/ noun [uncountable] a strong poison. It is a chemical element: symbol As
Examples from the Corpus
arsenic• That afternoon the old man drank arsenic in his office and died.• It absorbed so much arsenic that, in just two weeks, arsenic comprised two per cent of its entire weight.• Likewise, the arsenic atoms appear if the voltage is positive.• Cadmium, a deadly poison, exceeded the safe limit by seven times; arsenic by 20 times.• The chocolates had been laced with arsenic too.• Copper, zinc, arsenic and tungsten are associated with tin in quartz-tourmaline veins.Origin arsenic (1300-1400) Latin arsenicum, from Greek arsenikon yellow mineral from which arsenic is obtained, from Syriac zarnig 