acetylene

[uh-set-l-een, -in]

noun Chemistry.

a colorless gas, C2H2, having an etherlike odor, produced usually by the action of water on calcium carbide or by pyrolysis of natural gas: used especially in metal cutting and welding, as an illuminant, and in organic synthesis.

Origin of acetylene

First recorded in 1860–65; acetyl + -ene

Also called ethine, ethyne.

Related formsa·cet·y·len·ic

[uh-set-l-en-ik] /əˌsɛt lˈɛn ɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for acetylene

The acetylene prepared from this substance has a very characteristic odor due to impurities, the chief of these being phosphine.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry|William McPherson
Acetylene gives a light which is nearest to sunlight of any artificial illuminant.
Oxy-Acetylene Welding and Cutting|Harold P. Manly
In what proportion must acetylene and oxygen be mixed to produce the greatest explosion?
An Elementary Study of Chemistry|William McPherson
Mixtures of acetylene with air or oxygen are forbidden, irrespective of the pressure or proportions.
Acetylene, The Principles Of Its Generation And Use|F. H. Leeds

The impulses received by the microphone in this equipment were recorded on a running tape smoked by an acetylene flame.
America's Munitions 1917-1918|Benedict Crowell

British Dictionary definitions for acetylene

acetylene

noun

a colourless flammable gas used in the manufacture of organic chemicals and in cutting and welding metals. Formula: C 2 H 2Systematic name: ethyne

another name for alkyne
(as modifier)acetylene series

Derived Formsacetylenic (əˌsɛtɪˈlɛnɪk), adjective

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 acetylene

gaseous hydrocarbon, 1864, from French acétylène, coined by French chemist Marcelin-Pierre-Eugène Berthelot (1823-1907) from chemical ending -ene + acetyl, which was coined from acetic in 1839 by German chemist Justus von Liebig; see acetic. Liebig's coinage was in reference to a different radical; acetyl was transferred to its current sense in 1850s, but Berthelot's coinage was based on the original use of acetyl.

The name acetylene is an unfortunate one as the hydrocarbon is not directly related to the modern acetyl radical and the molecule ... contains a triple bond, not a double bond which the suffix -ene (q.v.) implies. [Flood, "Origins of Chemical Names," 1963]

Medicine definitions for acetylene

acetylene

[ə-sĕt′l-ēn′, -ən]

n.

A colorless, highly flammable, and explosive gas used for metal welding and cutting and as an illuminant.

Science definitions for acetylene

acetylene

[ə-sĕt′l-ēn′, -ən]

A colorless, highly flammable or explosive gas with a characteristic sweet odor. It is used in welding torches and in the manufacture of organic chemicals such as vinyl chloride. Acetylene is the simplest alkyne, consisting of two carbon atoms joined by a triple bond and each attached to a single hydrogen atom. Also called ethyne. Chemical formula: C2H2.