Urethanes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of polymers composed of organic units connected by carbamate links, widely used in coatings and foams
2. Materials known for their durability and elasticity, often employed in adhesives and sealants
3. A class of compounds that serve diverse functions in manufacturing and construction, valued for their versatility and performance

Etymology: "Urethanes" is the plural of "urethane," a chemical name coined in 1833 by the French chemist Jean Baptiste Dumas. The name was built from pieces of older chemical vocabulary: it is generally understood as a blend of "urée" (urea) and "éther" (ether), with the "-ane" ending marking it as a saturated compound. The chemist was naming a family of compounds in his systematic work on organic chemistry, and the name stuck because it described how the substance was built from its parts. Urethane is a relatively modest coinage, and the plural simply refers to the class of compounds sharing that structure. Its modern use as a synthetic plastic material came much later than the 1833 chemical name, which was coined for the compound itself rather than for any plastic.