Ethynes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Chemical compounds characterized by a carbon-carbon triple bond; hydrocarbon molecules with two hydrogen atoms attached to the triple-bonded carbons; substances commonly used as building blocks in organic synthesis
2. Organic molecules defined by at least one triple bond between two carbon atoms; hydrocarbons with two hydrogen atoms bonded to the acetylenic carbons; chemicals integral to polymer production and various chemical reactions
3. Unsaturated hydrocarbons featuring a carbon-carbon triple bond and two hydrogens; simple alkynes serving as fundamental components in chemical manufacturing; compounds often involved in addition reactions and synthesis processes

Etymology: "Ethynes" is the plural of "ethyne", the older name for the simplest alkyne, the two-carbon compound now usually called acetylene. The word is a systematic chemical coinage: "ethyne" joins "ethane" and "ethene" to form a family of names built on the number of carbon atoms (the "eth-" stem from "ethyl") and a suffix marking the bond type. The "-yne" ending was chosen to show a triple carbon-carbon bond, following the pattern of "-ane" for single bonds and "-ene" for double bonds. Because "ethyne" names a specific molecule, its plural refers to several such compounds at once, which is why chemists use the word for the broader class of triple-bonded carbon compounds. Those with a triple bond at the end of the carbon chain are called terminal alkynes, and the plural form is used in the same way as "alkanes" and "alkenes" for their respective families.

Synonyms: alkynes, acetylene compounds