thimerosal

[thahy-mur-uh-sal, -mer-]

noun

Pharmacology.

1. a cream-colored, crystalline, water-soluble powder, C 9 H 9 HgNaO 2 S, used chiefly as an antiseptic.

thimerosal

/ θaɪˈmɛrəˌsæl /

noun

1. a creamy white crystalline compound of mercury, used in solution as an antiseptic. Formula: C 9 H 9 HgNaO 2 S

Word History and Origins

Origin of thimerosal¹

1945–50; perhaps thi- + mer(cury) + -o- + sal(icylate)

Word History and Origins

Origin of thimerosal¹

C20: from _thio- + _mer ( _cury ) + _sal ( _icylate )

Example Sentences

The vaccine court spent years in the 2000s trying cases that alleged autism was caused by the vaccine ingredient thimerosal and the shot that protects people from measles, mumps and rubella.

Read more on Salon

The new panel made its first decision last week, voting to stop recommending a small number of flu vaccines that still contain the preservative thimerosal, something Kennedy wrote a book about in 2015.

Read more on BBC

On Thursday, at its first meeting, his newly reconstituted council voted to ban the preservative thimerosal from the few remaining vaccines that contain it, despite many studies showing that thimerosal is safe.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The risk from influenza is so much greater than the nonexistent risk as far as we know from thimerosal,” he said, per the New York Times.

Read more on Salon

On Thursday, the group is scheduled to hear a presentation on the use of thimerosal in vaccines given by Lyn Redwood, a former leader of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group Kennedy used to run.

Read more on BBC