Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

anthracene

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.67 in modern English

Syllables
an-thracene
IPA
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (an acene containing three fused rings) obtained from coal tar; used in the manufacture of wood preservatives, insecticides and the dye alizarin; it is isomeric with phenanthrene.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

Borrowed from French anthracène, coined by its co-discoverer Auguste Laurent in 1837, from Ancient Greek ἄνθραξ (ánthrax, “coal”) + -ene. By surface analysis, anthrac- + -ene.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: ἄνθραξ

Usage

Inflected Forms

anthracenes (plural)

Derived Forms

anthrapyrazole benzanthracene benzoanthracene circumanthracene diazaanthracene haloanthracene paranthracene polyanthracene

Frequently Paired Words

anthracite benzene naphthalene

Questions

What does anthracene mean?
A tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (an acene containing three fused rings) obtained from coal tar; used in the manufacture of wood preservatives, insecticides and the dye alizarin; it is isomeric with phenanthrene.
Where does anthracene come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce anthracene

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