Baekeland

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of synthetic resin created from phenol and formaldehyde that was used in various applications
2. Named after the inventor, it represents an early form of plastic
3. This material was significant in the development of molded products and electrical insulations

Etymology: Leo Baekeland was a Belgian-born chemist who emigrated to the United States and, in 1907, patented a synthetic resin made from phenol and formaldehyde. He called it Bakelite, and the name stuck so firmly that it became a common noun for the material, often written with a lowercase "b" as "bakelite." The trade name was a deliberate, personal coinage, built from his own surname, which is how a family name ended up attached to the first fully synthetic plastic. The material was hard, heat-resistant and electrically insulating, which made it suited to telephone casings, radio housings, billiard balls and electrical fittings. Its success was so complete that "bakelite" came to stand for plastic in general in some older usage, a sense that shows how thoroughly the invention defined the category for its early public.