Molecule - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: Molecule

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mol·e·cule

Audio Help [mol-uh-kyool] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	Chemistry, Physics. the smallest physical unit of an element or compound, consisting of one or more like atoms in an element and two or more different atoms in a compound.

2.	Chemistry. a quantity of a substance, the weight of which, measured in any chosen unit, is numerically equal to the molecular weight; gram molecule.

3.	any very small particle.

[Origin: 1785–95; earlier molecula < NL, equiv. to L mōlé(s) mass + -cula -cule¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Molecule

To learn more about Molecule visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mol·e·cule Audio Help (mŏl'ĭ-kyōōl') Pronunciation Key
n.

The smallest particle of a substance that retains the chemical and physical properties of the substance and is composed of two or more atoms; a group of like or different atoms held together by chemical forces.
A small particle; a tiny bit.

[French molécule, from New Latin mōlēcula, diminutive of Latin mōlēs, mass.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
molecule

1794, "extremely minute particle," from Fr. moléclue (1678), from Mod.L. molecula, dim. of L. moles "mass, barrier" (see mole (3)). A vague meaning at first; the vogue for the word (used until late 18c. only in Latin form) can be traced to the philosophy of Descartes. First used in modern scientific sense by Amedeo Avogadro (1811). Molecular biology first attested 1950.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

molecule
noun
1.	(physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an element or compound
2.	(nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything [syn: atom]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
molecule [ˈmolikjuːl] noun

the group of atoms that is the smallest unit into which a substance can be divided without losing its basic nature or identity

Arabic:	جُزَيء
Chinese (Simplified):	分子
Chinese (Traditional):	分子
Czech:	molekula
Danish:	molekyle
Dutch:	molecule
Estonian:	molekul
Finnish:	molekyyli
French:	molécule
German:	das Molekül
Greek:	μόριο
Hungarian:	molekula
Icelandic:	sameind, mólekúl
Indonesian:	molekul
Italian:	molecola

Japanese:	分子
Korean:	분자
Latvian:	molekula
Lithuanian:	molekulė
Norwegian:	molekyl
Polish:	molekuła, cząsteczka
Portuguese (Brazil):	molécula
Portuguese (Portugal):	molécula
Romanian:	moleculă
Russian:	молекула
Slovak:	molekula
Slovenian:	molekula
Spanish:	molécula
Swedish:	molekyl
Turkish:	molekül

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

molecule Audio Help (mŏl'ĭ-ky

l') Pronunciation Key
A group of two or more atoms linked together by sharing electrons in a chemical bond. Molecules are the fundamental components of chemical compounds and are the smallest part of a compound that can participate in a chemical reaction.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
molecule [(mol-uh-kyoohl)]

A combination of two or more atoms held together by a force between them. (See covalent bond and ionic bond.)

[Chapter:] Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Molecule

Chem"is*try\ (k[e^]m"[i^]s*tr[y^]; 277), n. [From Chemist. See Alchemy.]

1. That branch of science which treats of the composition of substances, and of the changes which they undergo in consequence of alterations in the constitution of the molecules, which depend upon variations of the number, kind, or mode of arrangement, of the constituent atoms. These atoms are not assumed to be indivisible, but merely the finest grade of subdivision hitherto attained. Chemistry deals with the changes in the composition and constitution of molecules. See Atom, Molecule.

Note: Historically, chemistry is an outgrowth of alchemy (or alchemistry), with which it was anciently identified.

2. An application of chemical theory and method to the consideration of some particular subject; as, the chemistry of iron; the chemistry of indigo.

3. A treatise on chemistry.

Note: This word and its derivatives were formerly written with y, and sometimes with i, instead of e, in the first syllable, chymistry, chymist, chymical, etc., or chimistry, chimist, chimical, etc.; and the pronunciation was conformed to the orthography.

Inorganic chemistry, that which treats of inorganic or mineral substances.

Organic chemistry, that which treats of the substances which form the structure of organized beings and their products, whether animal or vegetable; -- called also chemistry of the carbon compounds. There is no fundamental difference between organic and inorganic chemistry.

Physiological chemistry, the chemistry of the organs and tissues of the body, and of the various physiological processes incident to life.

Practical chemistry, or Applied chemistry, that which treats of the modes of manufacturing the products of chemistry that are useful in the arts, of their applications to economical purposes, and of the conditions essential to their best use.

Pure chemistry, the consideration of the facts and theories of chemistry in their purely scientific relations, without necessary reference to their practical applications or mere utility.

Browse Nearby Entries: