acetal

noun

ac·e·tal | \ ˈa-sə-ˌtal

Definition of acetal

: any of various compounds characterized by the grouping C(OR)₂ and obtained especially by heating aldehydes or ketones with alcohols

History and Etymology for acetal

borrowed from German Acetal, from Latin acētum "vinegar" + German Alkohol alcohol — more at acetic acid

Note: German Acetal was first used by Justus Liebig in the article "Ueber Acetal (Sauerstoffäther), Holzgeist und Essigäther" in Annalen der Pharmacie, 1. Heft, 5. Bd. (1833), p. 30: "Es scheint mir nun, daß der Name Sauerstoffäther von der Zusammensetzung dieses Körpers eine ganz unrichtige Vorstellung gibt, ich werde ihn in der Folge mit Acetal bezeichnen, als aus Alkohol bei der Essigsäurebildung entstanden." ("It now seems to me that the name oxygen ether presents a quite incorrect conception of the composition of this body, and as a consequence I will call it acetal, since it arises from alcohol during the formation of acetic acid.") Liebig modeled the word on earlier coinages of his own such as chloral, these modeled on the word ethal coined by the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul (Recherches chimiques sur les corps gras d'origine animale, Paris, 1823, p. 169).

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