The definitioin of a salt is just: an ionic compound containing cations other than H+ and anions other than OH- or O2-. The way in which you name a salt is also quite simple. Binary compounds, which are made from two elements is especially easy. You would simply add the names of the two ions together. The cation (the ion with a positive charge) will appear first in the name and the anion (the ion with a negative charge) will go second, and you would end the second part in "ide". For example, if you wanted to name a binary compound that consisted of iron and iodine, the new name would be "iron iodide". If you are naming a cesium ion with a chloride ion, the new name you would come up with is "cesium chloride". Some are not sure where to put the "ide" at first, but after a while, it comes naturally.

For clarification, the steps are listed below:

1. You name the cation (the positive ion) first.

2. Name the anion (the negative ion) second. This ion is generally an acid, so you would have to change its ending (if you are not trying to name a binary compound).

If the acid ended with "ic", you would change it to "ate"
If the acid ended with "ous", you would change the ending to "ite"

However, if this is a binary compound you would always end it the acid with "ide"

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