amyl

[ am-il, ey-mil ]

/ ˈæm ɪl, ˈeɪ mɪl /

Chemistry

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adjective

containing an amyl group; pentyl.

noun

an amyl group.

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Origin of amyl

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

Other definitions for amyl (2 of 2)

amyl-

variant of amylo-, especially before a vowel.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use amyl in a sentence

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
The clear distillate had a peculiar odor suggesting both tea and amyl formate.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron)|William Anderson Syme
The distillate, in every case, had an ethereal odor suggesting amyl formate in very dilute solution, but was more fragrant.
Some Constituents of the Poison Ivy Plant: (Rhus Toxicodendron)|William Anderson Syme
Amyl, am′il, n. the fifth in the series of the alcohol radicals, a natural product of the distillation of coal.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various

In such patients I should be disinclined to allow the use of amyl.
Neuralgia and the Diseases that Resemble it|Francis E. Anstie
Caffein aids the action of nitrates, acetanilid, ethyl alcohol and amyl alcohol, and increases the toxicity of barium chloride.
All About Coffee|William H. Ukers

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

Scientific definitions for amyl

amyl

[ ăm′əl ]

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