Advertisement

naphthalene (n.)

a benzene hydrocarbon obtained originally from distillation of coal tar, 1821, named by English chemist John Kidd, who first isolated and studied it, from naphtha + chemical suffix -ine (2) + -l- for the sake of euphony.

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of naphthalene from WordNet

naphthalene (n.)
a white crystalline strong-smelling hydrocarbon made from coal tar or petroleum and used in organic synthesis and as a fumigant in mothballs;
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near naphthalene

nap

Napa

napalm

nape

naphtha

naphthalene

napkin

Naples

napless

Napoleon

napping