Sulphanilic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Of or containing sulphanilic acid, an organic compound derived from aniline and used in dyes, pharmaceuticals, and analytical chemistry
2. Relating to or derived from sulphanilic acid, a white crystalline chemical compound employed in the manufacture of azo dyes and medical reagents
3. Pertaining to sulphanilic acid, an aromatic amine compound utilized in the synthesis of colorants, drugs, and laboratory testing reagents

Etymology: "Sulphanilic" is simply an alternative spelling of "sulfanilic," a chemist's term built from two existing words: "sulfur" and "aniline." Aniline is itself a name with a long past. It comes from "anil," the Portuguese word for indigo, which in turn came from Arabic and Sanskrit roots for the blue dye plant, and the name was given to the oily compound first distilled from indigo. Sulfanilic acid combines that aniline base with a sulfur-containing acid group, so the name records both ingredients directly. The spelling "sulphur" with a "ph" is the older British form, and "sulphanilic" keeps it, while "sulfanilic" follows the simplified American spelling. Both refer to the same compound, which chemists used as a building block in the manufacture of synthetic dyes.