Hydroxytoluene

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A phenolic chemical compound, related to cresol, that is used as an antioxidant to slow the spoilage of fats and food
2. A class of aromatic organic compounds built from a methyl-substituted phenol, valued chiefly for preventing oxidation in products
3. An organic chemical that acts as a preservative by blocking the reactions that cause oils, plastics and foods to degrade

Etymology: Hydroxytoluene is a chemical coinage built from two parts that describe its structure. "Toluene" is the name of a hydrocarbon, a liquid first isolated from balsam of Tolu, a resin from a tree that grows in Colombia and was named for the town of Tolú, where it was exported. Chemists took the "-ene" ending from that name to mark a compound with a benzene-type ring. "Hydroxy-" is the standard chemical prefix for an –OH group attached to a molecule, so the word simply names toluene carrying one or more of those groups. The compound most people mean by this word is butylated hydroxytoluene, a version of toluene with a hydroxy group and butyl groups attached. Its chemistry explains its use: the hydroxy group donates a hydrogen atom to unstable molecules that are starting to oxidise, stopping the chain of reactions that makes oils go rancid and plastics brittle. The name therefore describes a structure, and the job it does follows from that structure.