Acrylic

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /əˈkɹɪl.ɪk/

Definitions

1. A type of synthetic resin utilized in a variety of products, such as art supplies, coatings, and textiles
2. An artificial polymer that is commonly used in applications ranging from visual arts to commercial goods and construction materials
3. A synthetic substance often employed in diverse applications including art materials, protective coatings, and various textiles

Etymology: Acrylic traces back to a smell. In 1843, the German chemist Justus von Liebig and his colleagues were working with acrolein, a pungent compound whose name combines Latin "acer" ("sharp") and "olere" ("to smell"), a fitting label for a substance that stings the nose and eyes. Chemists then derived "acryl" from acrolein as the name for the group of atoms underlying a family of related compounds, and the "-ic" ending was added to make an adjective for them. The sharp-smelling chemistry eventually produced a material with no odour at all. Acrylic plastics, formed from compounds in this family, became commercially important in the twentieth century, and the adjective shifted from describing a chemical group to describing the synthetic fibres, paints and sheets made from it.

Synonyms: synthetic, plastic