Triol

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of organic compound containing three hydroxyl groups usually bonded to carbon atoms within a molecule commonly found in biochemistry and industrial chemistry
2. An alcohol derivative characterized by having three hydroxyl functional groups attached to its carbon skeleton, often involved in metabolic pathways or material synthesis
3. A molecule featuring tri-hydroxyl substitution prominent in chemical structures used in biological systems and synthetic processes involving polyols

Etymology: "Triol" is a plain chemical coinage, built from the Greek-derived prefix "tri-" meaning "three" and the suffix "-ol," which chemists attach to compounds containing hydroxyl groups (the -OH unit). Glycerol, the familiar sweet-tasting alcohol, is the best-known example of the "-ol" ending, and the chemical name for it is "propane-1,2,3-triol," the three-hydroxyl form. A triol is therefore any molecule carrying three hydroxyl groups, and the name is simply a systematic description of that structure rather than a traditional word with a long history of its own.

Synonyms: alcohol