Glyoxal

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dialdehyde that consists of two carbonyl groups attached to a single carbon atom, often used in synthetic organic chemistry
2. A simple organic compound with the formula C2H2O2, utilized in various chemical reactions and applications
3. An important chemical intermediate in the production of other compounds, with applications in agriculture and industry

Etymology: The name of this compound is a blend of two older chemical names. "Glyox-" comes from "glyoxylic acid," which was itself named by combining "glycol" and "oxalic." The first half, from Greek "glykys," meaning "sweet," appears in the names of many sugary-tasting compounds, while "oxalic" comes from "oxalis," the Latin name for sorrel, a sour-tasting plant. The result is a name that joins sweet and sour in one word. The ending "-al" follows the pattern of "aldehyde," the family of compounds to which this molecule belongs. Chemists used the suffix to mark a compound as an aldehyde, so the name signals its chemical class directly. It is also the reason the molecule is sometimes called a dialdehyde: it carries two aldehyde groups, one on each end of a short chain.