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acetal

[as-i-tal]
noun Chemistry.
  1. Also called diethylacetal. a colorless, volatile, sparingly water-soluble liquid, C6H14O2, having a nutlike aftertaste, obtained from acetaldehyde and ethyl alcohol: used chiefly as a solvent and in the manufacture of perfumes.
  2. any of a class of compounds of aldehydes with alcohols.

Origin of acetal

First recorded in 1850–55; acet- + -al3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for acetal

acetal

noun
  1. 1,1-diethoxyethane; a colourless volatile liquid used as a solvent and in perfumes. Formula: CH 3 CH(OC 2 H 5) 2
  2. any organic compound containing the group -CH(OR 1)OR 2, where R 1 and R 2 are other organic groups

Word Origin for acetal

C19: from German Azetal, from aceto- + alcohol
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
acetal in Medicine

acetal

[ăs′ĭ-tăl′]
n.
  1. A colorless, flammable, volatile liquid used as a solvent.
  2. Any of the compounds formed from aldehydes combined with alcohol.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.