benzene
/ˈbɛn.ziːn/ noun
Forms benzenes benzine
- noun (organic chemistry) An aromatic hydrocarbon of formula C₆H₆ whose structure consists of a ring of alternate single and double bonds.
- noun (organic chemistry, in combination) Sometimes used in place of the phenyl group.
Synonyms
Etymology
A technical term in chemistry, adopted in English in 1835 as benzine (benzene from 1872), from German Benzin, which was coined in 1833 by Eilhardt Mitscherlich based on Benzoesäure (“benzoic acid”), plus the technical ending -ene (German -in) denoting hydrocarbons. The adjective benzoic is in turn from benzoin, originally a term for a balsamic resin from Middle French benjoin, from Spanish benjuí, Portuguese beijoim, Italian benzoe, probably, from Arabic لُبَان جَاوِيّ (lubān jāwiyy, “Javanese frankincense”).
Not related to German Benz (surname).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A volatile, very inflammable liquid, C6H6, contained in the naphtha produced by the destructive distillation of coal, from which it is separated by fractional distillation. The name is sometimes applied also to the impure commercial product or benzole, and also, but rarely, to a similar mixed product of petroleum. Benzene nucleus, Benzene ring (Chem.), a closed chain or ring, consisting of six carbon atoms, each with one hydrogen atom attached, regarded as the type from which the aromatic compounds are derived. This ring formula is provisionally accepted as representing the probable constituti
Etymology [From Benzoin.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “benzene”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details