thymol

[ thahy-mohl, -mawl ]

/ ˈθaɪ moʊl, -mɔl /

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noun Chemistry, Pharmacology.

a colorless, crystalline, slightly water-soluble solid, C10H14O, having a pungent, aromatic taste and odor, obtained from the oil distilled from thyme or prepared synthetically: used chiefly in perfumery, embalming, preserving biological specimens, and in medicine as a fungicide and antiseptic.

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Also called thyme camphor, thymic acid

[tahy-mik]. /ˈtaɪ mɪk/.

Origin of thymol

First recorded in 1855–60; thyme + -ol²

Words nearby thymol

thymine, thymitis, thymo-, thymocyte, thymokinetic, thymol, thymoma, thymoprival, thymosin, thymus, thymus corpuscle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use thymol in a sentence

Thymol crystallizes in large colourless plates which melt at 44 and boil at 230.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
Our return to thymol for intestinal parasites is interesting.
Old-Time Makers of Medicine|James J. Walsh
The cure of the disease is very easy; thymol is given, which weakens the hold of the worm, this being followed by Epsom salts.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
A weak lotion of thymol, corrosive sublimate or ichthyol would doubtless be equally effectual.
Essentials of Diseases of the Skin|Henry Weightman Stelwagon

A thymol or carbolized boric-acid lotion will relieve the irritation.
Essentials of Diseases of the Skin|Henry Weightman Stelwagon

British Dictionary definitions for thymol

thymol

/ (ˈθaɪmɒl) /

noun

a white crystalline substance with an aromatic odour, obtained from the oil of thyme and used as a fungicide, antiseptic, and anthelmintic and in perfumery and embalming; 2-isopropylphenol. Formula: (CH 3) 2 CHC 6 H 3 (CH 3)OH

Word Origin for thymol

C19: from thyme + -ol ²

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

Medical definitions for thymol

thymol

[ thī′môl′, -mōl′ ]

A white crystalline aromatic compound derived from thyme oil and other oils or made synthetically and used as an antiseptic, a fungicide, and a preservative.