Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fusel oil

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.33 in modern English

Syllables: fusel oil
IPA

11

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A mixture of several higher-order alcohols (having more than two carbon atoms) formed as byproduct in the normal fermentation process, captured as part of the tailings in distillation. An excessive concentration, as in low-quality moonshine, causes unpleasant taste.

Example Sentences

"As for drinking, I am something of a chemist and I have yet to find a liquor that is free from traces of a number of poisons, some of them deadly, such as fusel oil, acetic acid, ethylacetate, acetaldehyde and furfurol."
"[…] and many simply blamed on the Doosra's known enthusiasms for opium, ganja, and any number of local fusel oils, singly or combined, named and nameless."

Etymology

Partial calque of German Fuselöl, from Fusel, referring to low-quality alcoholic beverages in general, especially to inferior wines and spirits distilled with inadequate equipment.

Inflected Forms

fusel oils (plural)

Synonyms

fusel fusel alcohol fuselol potato oil

Questions

What does fusel oil mean?: A mixture of several higher-order alcohols (having more than two carbon atoms) formed as byproduct in the normal fermentation process, captured as part of the tailings in distillation. An excessive concentration, as in low-quality moonshine, causes unpleasant taste.
Where does fusel oil come from?: Partial calque of German Fuselöl, from Fusel, referring to low-quality alcoholic beverages in general, especially to inferior wines and spirits distilled with inadequate equipment.

How to pronounce fusel oil

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