cacodyl

American  

[kak-uh-dil] / ˈkæk ə dɪl /

adjective

1. containing the cacodyl group.

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noun

1. an oily, slightly water-soluble, poisonous liquid compound composed of two cacodyl groups, (CH3 ) 2 As−As(CH3 ) 2 , that has a vile, garliclike odor and that undergoes spontaneous combustion in dry air.

cacodyl British  

/ ˈkækədaɪl /

noun

1. an oily poisonous liquid with a strong garlic smell; tetramethyldiarsine. Formula: [(CH 3 ) 2 As] 2

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Other Word Forms

• cacodylic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cacodyl

1840–50; < Greek kakṓd ( ēs ) ill-smelling ( kak ( o )- caco- + -ōd- smell + -ēs adj. suffix) + -yl

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cacodyl

"What do you know about cacodyl?" was his impressive question.

From The Firm of Girdlestone by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The knowledge of compound radicals received further increment at the hands of Robert W. Bunsen, the discoverer of the cacodyl compounds.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various

Without a moment's hesitation or thought he expressed his conviction that the compound was cacodyl.

From The Firm of Girdlestone by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Simultaneously with his work on cacodyl, he was studying the composition of the gases given off from blast furnaces.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various

In the '40's, Bunsen, the German chemist, combined oxide of cacodyl with cyanogen, a radical of prussic acid, producing cyanide of cacodyl, or diniethyl arsine cyanide.

From Average Jones by Samuel Hopkins Adams