Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tholin

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
tholin
IPA
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of several poorly classified heteropolymers derived from simple hydrocarbons and ammonia formed by solar irradiation in the atmospheres of icy planets and moons.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek θολός (tholós, “muddy”) + -in. Coined by Carl Sagan and Bishun Khare in 1979. From the muddy coloration that this class of chemical compounds appear to have, when observed on the Saturnian moon Titan, and from Miller–Urey-style experiments.

Word Breakdown

Inflected Forms

tholins (plural)

Questions

What does tholin mean?
Any of several poorly classified heteropolymers derived from simple hydrocarbons and ammonia formed by solar irradiation in the atmospheres of icy planets and moons.
Where does tholin come from?
From Ancient Greek θολός (tholós, “muddy”) + -in. Coined by Carl Sagan and Bishun Khare in 1979. From the muddy coloration that this class of chemical compounds appear to have, when observed on the Saturnian moon Titan, and from Miller–Urey-style experiments.

How to pronounce tholin

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