sulfanilamide

[ suhl-fuh-nil-uh-mahyd, -mid ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. a white, crystalline amide of sulfanilic acid, C 6 H 8 N 2 O 2 S, formerly used in the treatment of bacterial infections: replaced by its derivatives and by antibiotics.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sulfanilamide¹

First recorded in 1935–40; sulfanil(ic acid) + amide