Origin of Azide's Name Today, I learned that  $\ce{N_3^-}$ is referred to as azide. I was wondering why $\ce{N_3^-}$ is referred to as azide. I checked Wikipedia for an answer, but I didn't find one. Does anyone know why this ion is assigned this name?
Nitrogen was originally called 'azote' by Lavoisier. This name persists in many nitrogen containing species such as azide, hydrazine, diazonium etc.

The '-ide' ending is the standard ending for anions of a single element such as carbide, oxide, sulfide etc.