Acetone

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæ.sə.toʊn/

Definitions

1. A clear, volatile liquid used mainly as a solvent in nail polish remover and paint thinners
2. A colorless liquid chemical that evaporates quickly and dissolves many substances, often used in laboratories and industry
3. An organic compound known for its strong smell that is commonly used to dissolve oils, fats, and resins

Etymology: Acetone was named after vinegar. Its first half comes from "acetum", the Latin word for vinegar, the same root that gave English "acetic" and "acetate". The substance was first obtained by distilling acetates, and the chemists who named it treated it as a relative of the vinegar family of compounds. The ending is a different story: "-one" was borrowed from "margarone", a name for a compound linked to margaric acid, and the exact reason for that choice is unclear. Acetone also has a close relative in English. "Ketone", the broader name for this class of compounds, is a doublet of acetone, meaning the two words descend from the same source but reached English by different routes and took on different forms. Acetone is the older, more specific form, while ketone became the general term for the whole family of chemically similar substances.

Synonyms: dimethyl ketone, 2-propanone, solvent, nail polish remover, chemical