Benzenetriol

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Any of three isomeric chemical compounds formed by attaching three hydroxyl groups to a benzene ring in different positions
2. A class of aromatic organic compounds made of a benzene ring carrying three hydroxyl groups, existing as several structural isomers
3. Trihydroxy derivatives of benzene, such as pyrogallol, hydroxyquinol and phloroglucinol, used in chemistry and as reducing agents

Etymology: Benzenetriol is a chemical coinage rather than a word with a folk history. It is built from "benzene," the hydrocarbon first isolated by Michael Faraday in 1825, and "triol," a systematic suffix chemists use for compounds carrying three hydroxyl (–OH) groups. "Benzene" itself came from "benzoin," a resin whose name traces through Latin and Arabic sources, so the benzene part of the word carries a long chain of its own, while the "-ol" ending marks an alcohol-type compound. A benzenetriol is therefore a benzene ring bearing three hydroxyl groups, and its name tells you this directly. The naming follows the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry's systematic conventions, which were developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s to replace older, irregular names with descriptive ones. Because the ring can carry its three hydroxyl groups in several arrangements, chemists add numerical locants (such as 1,2,3- or 1,3,5-) to specify which isomer is meant.