Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

naphthalene

/ˈnæfθəliːn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.07 in modern English

Syllables
naph-tha-lene
IPA
/ˈnæfθəliːn/
19
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A white crystalline hydrocarbon manufactured from coal tar; used in mothballs.

Uncountable

noun

An aromatic bicyclic hydrocarbon, C₁₀H₈; an acene containing two fused benzene rings.

Uncountable

Etymology

Etymology tree Akkadian napṭumbor.? Old Persian *naftahbor. Ancient Greek νάφθα (náphtha)bor. Latin naphthabor. English naphth(a) English -al French -ènebor. English -ene English naphthalene From naphth(a) + -al + -ene.

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Chemistry.

Inflected Forms

naphthalenes (plural)

Derived Forms

adapalene anilinonaphthalene azonaphthalene azoxynaphthalene binaphthalene bromonaphthalene chlorodinitronaphthalene cinacalcet circumnaphthalene decahydronaphthalene diaminonaphthalene diazanaphthalene

Phrases

lithium naphthalene nalidixic acid naphthaleneacetic acid naphthalene red naphthalene yellow polychlorinated naphthalene

Frequently Paired Words

benzene (1-ring acene) anthracene (3-ring acene)

Questions

How do you pronounce naphthalene?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈnæfθəliːn/.
What does naphthalene mean?
A white crystalline hydrocarbon manufactured from coal tar; used in mothballs.
Where does naphthalene come from?
Etymology tree Akkadian napṭumbor.? Old Persian *naftahbor. Ancient Greek νάφθα (náphtha)bor. Latin naphthabor. English naphth(a) English -al French -ènebor. English -ene English naphthalene From naphth(a) + -al + -ene.

How to pronounce naphthalene

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  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈnæfθəliːn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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