paraldehyde

[ puh-ral-duh-hahyd ]

nounChemistry, Pharmacology.
  1. a colorless, liquid, cyclic compound, C6H12O3, 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.

Origin of paraldehyde

1
First recorded in 1855–60; par- + aldehyde

Words Nearby paraldehyde

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How to use paraldehyde in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for paraldehyde

paraldehyde

/ (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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