Phenic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or derived from phenol; pertaining to chemical compounds containing a hydroxyl group attached to an aromatic hydrocarbon ring; describing substances or processes involving phenol or its derivatives
2. Connected with phenol or its chemical structure; concerning organic compounds based on the phenol molecule; characterizing reactions or properties related to aromatic alcohols
3. Associated with phenolic compounds in chemistry; involving molecules with a hydroxyl group bonded to an aromatic ring; referring to phenol-related substances or chemistry concepts

Etymology: "Phenic" is a chemistry term built from "phenol," itself coined in the 1840s from the Greek "phaino," meaning "to shine" or "to appear," because the French chemist Auguste Laurent named the substance for its origin in illuminating gas, which was then called "phene" by Charles Gerhardt, an earlier name tied to the same Greek root. The original idea, then, is about light and brightness, not about anything chemically harsh. The adjective "phenic" follows the standard pattern for chemical names of this era: a base taken from "phenol" with the "-ic" ending that marks a relation to a substance. It is used in terms such as "phenic acid," an older name for phenol itself, which shows how loosely the labels were first applied before chemists settled on a more systematic naming scheme.

Synonyms: phenolic