- a gray-black, often lumpy powder, CaCN2, unstable in water, obtained by heating calcium carbide and nitrogen; cyanamide: used chiefly as a fertilizer, herbicide, and intermediate in the synthesis of nitrogen compounds.
- a white crystalline compound formed by heating calcium carbide with nitrogen. It is important in the fixation of nitrogen and can be hydrolysed to ammonia or used as a fertilizer. Formula: CaCN 2
