chloroform
/ˈklɒɹə(ʊ)ˌfɔː(ɹ)m/ noun, verb
Forms chloroforms chloroforming chloroformed
- noun (organic chemistry) A halogenated hydrocarbon, trichloromethane, CHCl₃; it is a volatile, sweet-smelling liquid, used extensively as a solvent and formerly as an anesthetic. “Some assume that chloroform is a gas because it was given by inhalation.”
- verb (transitive) To treat, or to render unconscious, with chloroform.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French chloroforme, portmanteau of terchloride (tertiary chloride, trichloride) and formyle (CH, an obsolete radical of formic acid) by Jean-Baptiste Dumas, from 1834. By surface analysis, chloro- + -form.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A colorless volatile liquid, CHCl3, having an ethereal odor and a sweetish taste, formed by treating alcohol with chlorine and an alkali. It is a powerful solvent of wax, resin, etc., and is extensively used to produce anæsthesia in surgical operations; also externally, to alleviate pain.
- verb To treat with chloroform, or to place under its influence.
Etymology [Chlorine + formyl, it having been regarded as a trichloride of this radical: cf. F. chloroforme, G. chloroform.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “chloroform”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details