Anthratriol

/ænθrəˈtraɪɑl/ noun

Definition

A chemical compound derived from anthracene that contains three hydroxyl groups (-OH), used in synthetic chemistry and pharmaceutical research.

Etymology

From anthracene (Greek anthrakis 'coal') plus -triol, a suffix meaning 'three alcohols' (tri- + -ol, from Latin oleum 'oil').

Kelly Says

The -ol and -triol suffixes in chemistry reveal the hidden structure of molecules: they're like ingredient labels that tell you exactly what functional groups are attached and how many. One -ol, three -ols—the name literally describes the molecular architecture.

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