chloral

[klawr-uh l, klohr-]

noun

Also called trichloroacetaldehyde, trichloroacetic acid aldehyde. a colorless, oily liquid, C2Cl3HO, having a pungent odor, usually derived by the chlorination of ethyl alcohol or of acetaldehyde and combining with water to form chloral hydrate.
Also called chloral hydrate. Pharmacology. a white, crystalline solid, C2H3Cl3O2, formed by combining liquid chloral with water: used as a hypnotic.

Origin of chloral

First recorded in 1825–35; chlor-² + -al³

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chloral

Historical Examples of chloral

He said the chloral he had taken daring the journey was upon him, and he could not see.
Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
T. Hall Caine
But when the chloral was stoutly met at last, it was too late.
Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 8 (of 8)
Various
On the table where she had placed the lamp was a tiny bottle marked "chloral."
Peak and Prairie
Anna Fuller
Bromide of potassium in combination with chloral has been recommended.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth
Give ether or chloroform by inhalation, and chloral internally.
Housekeeping in Old Virginia
Marion Cabell Tyree

British Dictionary definitions for chloral

chloral

noun

a colourless oily liquid with a pungent odour, made from chlorine and acetaldehyde and used in preparing chloral hydrate and DDT; trichloroacetaldehyde
short for chloral hydrate

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 chloral

colorless liquid formed by the action of chlorine on alcohol, apparently coined by German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1833 from elements from chlorine + alcohol. Later chiefly in chloral hydrate (1874).