amyl alcohol

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noun Chemistry.

a colorless liquid, C5H12O, consisting of a mixture of two or more isomeric alcohols, derived from the pentanes, and used as a solvent and intermediate for organic synthesis: the main component of fusel oil.

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Origin of amyl alcohol

First recorded in 1860–65

Words nearby amyl alcohol

amygdaloidal, amygdule, amyl, amylaceous, amyl acetate, amyl alcohol, amylase, amylene, amyl group, amylic, amyl nitrite

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

How to use amyl alcohol in a sentence

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
Ordinary fusel oil yields also an isomeric amyl alcohol (active amyl alcohol) boiling at about 128.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3|Various
Fusel oil and its chief constituent, amyl alcohol, are direct nerve poisons.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3|Various
These colloids appear to be separated by amyl alcohol in virtue of their greater solubility in that menstruum.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889|Various

The pear flavor, amyl acetate, is made from acetic acid and amyl alcohol—though amyl alcohol (fusel oil) has a detestable smell.
Creative Chemistry|Edwin E. Slosson

British Dictionary definitions for amyl alcohol

amyl alcohol

noun

a colourless flammable liquid existing in eight isomeric forms that is used as a solvent and in the manufacture of organic compounds and pharmaceuticals. Formula: C 5 H 11 OH

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 alcohol

amyl alcohol

[ ăm′əl, ā′məl ]

Any of various colorless oils derived from pentane, one of which is the main constituent of fusel oil. Chemical formula: C5H12.