acetal

noun

ac·e·tal ˈa-sə-ˌtal

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

Examples of acetal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web One recent study from Yale University found that vanillin — an extract of the vanilla bean — transforms into chemicals called acetals when aerosolized. —

NBC News, 3 Sep. 2019 One recent study from Yale and Duke identified chemicals called acetals in some Juul e-cigarette liquids. —

Sheila Kaplan, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Aug. 2019 One recent study from Yale University identified chemicals called acetals in some Juul e-cigarette liquids. —

NBC News, 13 Aug. 2019 The move comes just days after a Yale analysis identified chemicals called acetals in some flavors of a specific brand of e-cigarette: Juul. —

Erika Edwards, NBC News, 2 Aug. 2019 Vanillin, which is banned from regular cigarettes but is allowed in e-cigarettes, was found to irritate airways when combined with the acetals in the aerosol, also known as vapor, produced by the Juul, according to Yale. —

Abigail Brone, courant.com, 31 July 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'acetal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

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).

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of acetal was in 1834

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