Halothanes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Volatile inhaled anesthetic agents used to induce and maintain unconsciousness during surgical procedures
2. Colorless, nonflammable liquids that vaporize easily and are administered by inhalation to produce general anesthesia
3. Halogenated hydrocarbon anesthetics given as vapors to render patients insensible to pain during an operation

Etymology: Halothanes is simply the plural of halothane, a noun naming a family of related chemical compounds. Halothane itself is a blend of "halogen" and "ethane": the halogen part reflects the fluorine, chlorine and bromine atoms that make up its molecule, while the ethane part reveals that its carbon skeleton is the two-carbon chain of ethane. The name thus records the molecule's chemical makeup in a single compressed word, the kind of coinage chemists favour when they need a precise label for a new substance.