alcohol
Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
Noun 3 meanings
Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
Ethanol.
Beverages containing ethanol, collectively.
Etymology
First attested in the 15th century from Middle English alcofol, from Middle French alcohol or Spanish alcohol, derived from the Medieval Latin rendering alcohol transmitted in medical or alchemical literature of Arabic اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl, “kohl”), which in Andalusian Arabic also bore the form كُحُول (kuḥūl), قُحُول (quḥūl); bearing thus the meaning of stibnite first, then generalized in meaning to a powder obtained by triturating a material, then also to liquids obtained by boiling down, and specialized to mean spirit of wine, ethanol, in the 18th century, then the narrow chemical sense after 1850.
Similar and opposite words
ALCOHOL at a glance
ALCOHOL has 7 letters and scores 12 points in Scrabble (A 1 + L 1 + C 3 + O 1 + H 4 + O 1 + L 1) and 14 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #2,369 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with alcohol
All rhymes- MENTHOL12
- DHOL8
- CATECHOL15
- NAPHTHOL16
- GASOHOL11
- CARBACHOL18
- ANETHOL10
- ANTIALCOHOL16
- AXEROPHTHOL26
- CAMPHOL16
- GASAHOL11
- MYRRHOL15
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