formaldehyde
/fɔː(ɹ)ˈmældɪhaɪd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.97 in modern English
25
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The simplest aldehyde, HCHO, a colourless gas that has many industrial applications; it dissolves in water to give formol (10%) and formalin.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The shark chosen to replace the original was injected with 224 gallons of formaldehyde, ten times the amount used on the first shark and in a stronger concentration."
- "Back in 2006, Hirst found himself at the centre of a different debate arising out of the need to refurbish or update formaldehyde pieces that are prone to decay. It related to the piece that made him famous: the formaldehyde shark The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991), which had been bought by the US hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen for $8m."
Etymology
Etymology tree English form(yl) Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)bor. Aramaic כוחלא (kuḥlā)bor. Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl) Andalusian Arabic كُحُول (kuḥūl)bor. Latin alcoholder. Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin de-der. Proto-Indo-European *wed- Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ Proto-Hellenic *údōr Ancient Greek ῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr) Ancient Greek ῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)der. German Aldehydbor. English aldehyde English formaldehyde From form(yl) + aldehyde.
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
E240
methanal