XYLENE

xylene, xylol

(noun) a colorless flammable volatile liquid hydrocarbon used as a solvent

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

xylene (plural xylenes)

(chemistry) Any of a group of three isomeric aromatic hydrocarbons, found in coal and wood tar.

Synonym: dimethylbenzene

Source: Wiktionary


Xy"lene, n. Etym: [Gr. xy`lon wood.] (Chem.)

Definition: Any of a group of three metameric hydrocarbons of the aromatic series, found in coal and wood tar, and so named because found in crude wood spirit. They are colorless, oily, inflammable liquids, C6H4.(CH3)2, being dimethyl benzenes, and are called respectively orthoxylene, metaxylene, and paraxylene. Called also xylol.

Note: Each of these xylenes is the nucleus and prototype of a distinct series of compounds.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 April 2025

WHOLE

(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”


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Coffee Trivia

The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.

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