Definition of MERCAPTAN

mercaptan

Meanings

Plural: mercaptans

Noun

  • Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R₁.S.R₂ ); they tend to be foul-smelling. When R₂ is a hydrogen atom, they are termed thiols or thioalcohols.

Origin / Etymology

Borrowed from German Mercaptan, from Danish mercaptan; coined by organic chemist William Christopher Zeise in 1832 from mer(curius) (“mercury”) + captan(s) (“capturing”), because the thiolate group bonds very strongly with mercury compounds.

Scrabble Score: 15

mercaptan is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
mercaptan is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
mercaptan is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 19

mercaptan is a valid Words With Friends word