Plural of alcohol: organic compounds containing a hydroxyl (-OH) group, including drinking alcohol and many industrial chemicals.
Plural of 'alcohol,' derived from Arabic al-kohl (originally a fine powder for eye makeup, later applied to any distilled essence). The term expanded in chemistry to describe entire classes of compounds.
It's wild that the word 'alcohol' originally meant eye makeup powder, then became synonymous with drinking spirits, and now in chemistry class it describes hundreds of different organic compounds used everywhere from antifreeze to cosmetics!
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