paraldehyde

American  

[puh-ral-duh-hahyd] / pəˈræl dəˌhaɪd /

noun

Chemistry, Pharmacology.

1. a colorless, liquid, cyclic compound, C 6 H 1 2 O 3 , having a disagreeable taste but an agreeable odor, produced by the polymerization of acetaldehyde with sulfuric acid: used chiefly in the manufacture of organic chemicals and in medicine as a sedative and hypnotic.

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paraldehyde British  

/ pəˈrældɪˌhaɪd /

noun

1. a colourless liquid substance that is a cyclic trimer of acetaldehyde: used in making dyestuffs and as a hypnotic and anticonvulsant drug. Formula: (C 2 H 4 O) 3

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Etymology

Origin of paraldehyde

First recorded in 1855–60; par- + aldehyde

Example Sentences

With the intention of taking up pharmacy he entered Heidelberg University about 1835, and after graduating went to Giessen as pr�parateur to Liebig, with whom he elucidated the composition of paraldehyde and metaldehyde.

From Project Gutenberg

There, his physician, William D. Silkworth, sedated him with chloral hydrate and paraldehyde, two agents guaranteed to help an agitated drunk to sleep, albeit lightly.

From New York Times

After almost a year at Juniper Hill, Virginia was pronounced cured�but not before she and her fellow patients had been treated to shock therapy, hydrotherapy, psychoanalytical questionings, paraldehyde dosings and old-fashioned madhouse discipline.

From Time Magazine Archive

No one denied that on Dr. Adams' orders large doses of heroin, morphine and paraldehyde had been administered to the ailing, 81-year-old widow during the long illness that preceded her death.

From Time Magazine Archive