Containing or relating to chlorine, especially describing compounds of chlorine in a lower oxidation state.
From 'chlorine' + '-ous' (adjective-forming suffix indicating lower oxidation state). In chemistry, '-ous' endings typically denote lower-valence compounds compared to '-ic' endings.
Chlorinous compounds are trickier to work with than their 'chloric' cousins because they're less stable and can spontaneously decompose—which is why the term has fallen somewhat out of favor in modern chemistry.
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