Standard Lemma guide

phosphite

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

any salt or ester of phosphorous acid

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the anion PO33−, or the trivalent radical PO3

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- Proto-Indo-European *bhéh2os Proto-Hellenic *pháwos Ancient Greek φᾰ́ος (phắos) Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs) Proto-Indo-European *bher- Proto-Indo-European *bhéreti Proto-Hellenic *phérō Ancient Greek φέρω (phérō) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Hellenic *-os Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek -φόρος (-phóros) Ancient Greek φωσφόρος (phōsphóros)bor. Latin phōsphorusbor. English phosphorus Proto-Indo-European *h3ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h3édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Old French -usbor. Middle English -ous English -ous English phosphorous Proto-Indo-European *-tósder. Ancient Greek -της (-tēs)der. Ancient Greek -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs)der. Latin -ītēsbor. French -iteder. English -ite English phosphite From phosphorous + -ite.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: fosfit — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid
  • Finnish: fosfiitti — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid
  • Irish: foisfít — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid
  • Italian: fosfito — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid
  • Japanese: 亜燐酸塩 (arinsan'en) — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid
  • Māori: pākati tūtaewhetū — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid
  • Russian: фосфи́т (fosfít) — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid
  • Spanish: fosfito — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid
  • Swedish: fosfit — any salt or ester of phosphorous acid