tetrafluoroethylene

[ te-truh-floo r-oh-eth-uh-leen, -flawr-, -flohr- ]

/ ˌtɛ trəˌflʊər oʊˈɛθ əˌlin, -ˌflɔr-, -ˌfloʊr- /

noun Chemistry.

a colorless, water-insoluble, flammable gas, C2F4, used in the synthesis of certain polymeric resins, as Teflon.

QUIZZES

Discover The Influence Of Portuguese On English Via This Quiz!

We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?

Question 1 of 11

Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?

owl

crow

piranha

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby tetrafluoroethylene

tetraethyl lead, tetraethyl pyrophosphate, tetraethyllead, tetrafluoride, tetrafluoroethene, tetrafluoroethylene, tetrafunctional, tetragon, tetragonal, tetragonal trisoctahedron, tetragram

Origin of tetrafluoroethylene

First recorded in 1930–35; tetra- + fluoro- + ethylene