acetylene
/əˈsɛtəlˌin/ noun
Forms acetylenes
- noun (organic chemistry, countable) Any organic compound having one or more carbon–carbon triple bonds; an alkyne.
- noun (organic chemistry, uncountable) Ethyne; the simplest alkyne, a hydrocarbon of formula HC≡CH. It is a colourless, odourless, extremely flammable, explosive gas, formerly used as an illuminating gas, but now used in welding and metallurgy.
- noun A lamp powered by acetylene, particularly a motor vehicle headlight.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French acétylène, coined by French chemist Marcellin Berthelot, from acetyl + -ene.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A gaseous compound of carbon and hydrogen, in the proportion of two atoms of the former to two of the latter. It is a colorless gas, with a peculiar, unpleasant odor, and is produced for use as an illuminating gas in a number of ways, but chiefly by the action of water on calcium carbide. Its light is very brilliant. Watts.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “acetylene”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details