Toluic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or derived from toluene, a colorless aromatic hydrocarbon used as a solvent and in making other chemicals
2. Describing a chemical compound or group that contains or comes from toluene, the methylbenzene found in coal tar and petroleum
3. Pertaining to toluene or its derivatives, substances built on the aromatic ring structure of the solvent known as toluene

Etymology: Toluic is a plain chemical coinage: it is formed from "toluene" with the adjectival suffix "-ic", the same ending found in words like "acidic" or "benzoic." Toluene itself takes its name from tolu balsam, a fragrant resin that came from the tree "Myroxylon toluiferum" and was named after the town of Tolú in Colombia. Chemists isolated the hydrocarbon from coal tar and later found it in petroleum, and they gave it the name "toluene" so that its relationship to the balsam was recorded in the name. The suffix "-ic" marks a derivative of a parent substance, so "toluic" describes compounds that contain toluene's structure or are made from it. The most familiar example is "toluic acid," the family of carboxylic acids made by attaching a carboxyl group to the toluene ring.