Triarylmethane

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A class of organic chemical compounds in which three aromatic aryl groups are bonded to a single central carbon atom, forming the core of many dyes
2. An organic compound built around one carbon atom carrying three aryl ring substituents, a structure found in many synthetic dyestuffs
3. A chemical molecule whose central methane carbon is attached to three aromatic aryl groups, a backbone common in colorant chemistry

Etymology: Triarylmethane is a plain chemical coinage, built by joining two familiar pieces: "triaryl," meaning three aryl groups (aryl being the name chemists give to a ring-shaped hydrocarbon group such as phenyl), and "methane," the simplest hydrocarbon, with one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogens. The compound is methane in which three of those hydrogens have been replaced by aryl groups, so the carbon at its centre carries three ring structures and one remaining hydrogen. The word therefore records its own chemistry. Each part names a structural feature, and reading them together tells you what the molecule looks like: one central carbon, three aromatic rings attached to it. Many dyes of the triarylmethane family are built on this skeleton, which is why the name appears in discussions of colouring matter.