mercaptan (plural mercaptans)
(chemistry) Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R1.S.R2 ); they tend to be foul-smelling. When R2 is a hydrogen atom, they are termed thiols or thioalcohols.
Source: Wiktionary
Mer*cap"tan, n. Etym: [F., fr. NL. mercurius mercury + L. captans, p. pr. of captare to seize, v. intens. fr. capere.] (Chem.)
Definition: Any one of series of compounds, hydrosulphides of alcohol radicals, in composition resembling the alcohols, but containing sulphur in place of oxygen, and hence called also the sulphur alcohols. In general, they are colorless liquids having a strong, repulsive, garlic odor. The name is specifically applied to ethyl mercaptan, C2H5SH. So called from its avidity for mercury, and other metals.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
1 June 2025
(verb) come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; “Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble”; “the political movie backlashed on the Democrats”
According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.
