glycols
|gly-cols|
🇺🇸
/ˈɡlaɪˌkɑlz/
🇬🇧
/ˈɡlaɪˌkɒlz/
(glycol)
diol — an alcohol with two OH groups
Etymology
'glycol' originates from New Latin and Greek, specifically the Greek word 'glykys', where 'glyk-' meant 'sweet' and the suffix '-ol' meant 'alcohol'.
'glycol' changed from a 19th-century chemical coinage combining the Greek root 'glyk-' (via New Latin forms related to 'glycerin') with the chemical suffix '-ol' and eventually became the modern English word 'glycol'.
Initially it referred to a 'sweet' alcohol (reflecting the 'glyk-' root), but over time it evolved to denote specifically a dihydric alcohol (a compound with two hydroxyl groups) such as ethylene glycol.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural form of 'glycol'. Any of a class of organic compounds (diols) that contain two hydroxyl (−OH) groups on different carbon atoms; examples include ethylene glycol and propylene glycol, commonly used as antifreeze, solvents, and humectants.
Glycols such as ethylene glycol are widely used in antifreeze formulations.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/29 14:02