Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Xylene
/ˈzaɪliːn/noun
An aromatic hydrocarbon, C8H10, occurring in three isomeric forms and used as a solvent and a feedstock for polyester.
The Greek roots
ξύλον
xúlon
wood
Literally: “wood substance”
Follow a root:ξύλον4 words
The story of the word
It was first isolated from wood tar, which is all the name records; industrial xylene now comes from petroleum. The para isomer is the valuable one, oxidised to terephthalic acid and then to PET bottles and polyester shirts. Xulon also gave xylophone, wood-voice, and xylem, the woody tissue that carries water up a tree.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
xylophonexylemxylography
In a sentence
The histology lab clears its slides in xylene.
Refineries separate the xylene isomers by crystallisation or by molecular sieve.