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ketone

[kee-tohn]
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noun Chemistry.
  1. any of a class of organic compounds containing a carbonyl group, CO, attached to two alkyl groups, as CH3COCH3 or CH3COC2H5.
adjective
  1. containing the ketone group.

Origin of ketone

1850–55; < German Keton, aphetic alteration of Aceton acetone
Related formske·ton·ic [ki-ton-ik] /kɪˈtɒn ɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ketone

Historical Examples

  • Ionone, a ketone first prepared by Tiemann, and having when diluted a pronounced violet odour.

    The Handbook of Soap Manufacture

    W. H. Simmons

  • Besides methyl salicylate, the oil contains triaconitane, an aldehyde or ketone, and an alcohol.

  • Even the common linseed contains a glucoside which breaks up into sugar, prussic acid, and a ketone.

  • If the groups R and R′ are identical, the ketone is called a simple ketone, if unlike, a mixed ketone.

  • The hexoses all contain five alcoholic groups and one primary aldehyde, or one secondary aldehyde (ketone), group.

    The Chemistry of Plant Life

    Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher

British Dictionary definitions for ketone

ketone

noun
  1. any of a class of compounds with the general formula R′COR, where R and R′ are alkyl or aryl groupsSee also acetone
Derived Formsketonic (kɪˈtɒnɪk), adjective

Word Origin

C19: from German Keton, from Aketon acetone
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ketone

n.

chemical group, 1851, from German keton, coined in 1848 by German chemist Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853) from German Aketon, from French acétone (see acetone). Its comb. form is keto-.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ketone in Medicine

ketone

(kē′tōn′)
n.
  1. Any of a class of organic compounds having a carbonyl group linked to a carbon atom in each of two hydrocarbon radicals.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
ketone in Science

ketone

[kē′tōn′]
  1. Any of a class of organic compounds having the general formula RCOR′, where R and R′ are hydrocarbon radicals that are both attached to the carbon atom of the carbonyl (CO) group. Acetone is a ketone.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.