amyl

[ am-il, ey-mil ]

/ ˈæm ɪl, ˈeɪ mɪl /

Chemistry

adjective

containing an amyl group; pentyl.

noun

an amyl group.

Nearby words

Origin of amyl

1840–50; < Greek ám(ylon) starch (see amylo-) + -yl, with haplology of am(yl)-yl

amyl-

variant of amylo-, especially before a vowel.

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

Examples from the Web for amyl

With the president surrounded by “a fast Hollywood crowd,” someone offered him amyl nitrite, or “poppers.”
Intern's Memoir Details Affair With President Kennedy|Matthew DeLuca|February 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
One part of the alkaloid is dissolved in 36·6 of benzene, and in 76 parts of amyl alcohol.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection|Alexander Wynter Blyth
If the aura be brief, buy a few "pearls" of Amyl Nitrite, crush one in your handkerchief, and sniff the vapour.
Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia|Isaac G. Briggs
The violet coloring matter is obtained in a pure state on evaporating the amyl alcohol.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 829, November 21, 1891|Various

Inhalations of nitrite of amyl are said to have been useful.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection|Alexander Wynter Blyth
Pohl73 found that amyl alcohol is largely eliminated by the lungs in the cat and in the dog.
The Toxicity of Caffein|William Salant

British Dictionary definitions for amyl

amyl

/ (ˈæmɪl) /

noun

(modifier, no longer in technical usage) of, consisting of, or containing any of eight isomeric forms of the monovalent group C 5 H 11 -amyl group or radical See also pentyl

Word Origin for amyl

C19: from Latin: amylum

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 amyl

amyl

hydrocarbon radical, 1850, from Latin amylum, from Greek amylon "fine meal, starch," noun use of neuter of adjective amylos "not ground at the mill, ground by hand," from a-, privative prefix, "not" + myle "mill" (see mill (n.1)). So called because first obtained from the distilled spirits of potato or grain starch (though it also is obtained from other sources).

Medicine definitions for amyl

amyl

[ ăm′əl ]

n.

The univalent organic radical, C5H11, occurring in many organic compounds in eight isomeric forms.pentyl

Science definitions for amyl

amyl

[ ăm′əl ]

The radical C5H11, derived from pentane. Amyl occurs in eight isomeric forms. Also called pentyl