Alkylamine

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A chemical compound in which an alkyl group, a hydrocarbon fragment, is attached to a nitrogen atom within an amine structure
2. An organic base formed when one or more alkyl groups replace hydrogen atoms on the nitrogen of ammonia
3. A nitrogen-containing organic molecule whose structure consists of a hydrocarbon alkyl chain bonded to an amino group

Etymology: Alkylamine is a compound name built from two chemical terms, and its history is essentially the history of those parts. "Alkyl" comes from "alcohol," which travelled a long road from Arabic. Arabic "kuḥl" was a fine powder, used for eye cosmetics such as antimony-based kohl. It passed into Medieval Latin as "alcohol," originally meaning a fine powder produced by sublimation, and in English the word first appeared as "alcofol" before the modern spelling settled in. Chemists later took the "alc" part and attached the suffix "-yl," borrowed from the Greek "hūlē," meaning wood or matter, to name the hydrocarbon groups derived from alcohols. "Amine" has a different route. It descends from "Ammon," the Egyptian god whose temple at Siwa was known for its salt deposits. Latin "ammoniacus" described a salt gathered near that shrine, and English adopted "ammonia" from it. Chemists then coined "amine" by analogy with "ammonia," following the -ine ending used in names of chemical compounds. Joined together, alkylamine simply names an amine in which an alkyl group is attached to the nitrogen atom. It is a technical coinage made from these parts rather than an older word that changed meaning.