carbolic acid
1
8.0
- noun
- /ˈkɑrˌbɑlɪk ˈæsɪd/
- Archaic
:
ácido carbólico
- Researchers discovered that a diluted carbolic acid solution effectively reduces harmful bacteria on surfaces.
Examples
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Desperate, Ellen commits suicide by swallowing carbolic acid.
Academic text (2014) -
What you did was to spray the air around the patient, applying carbolic acid also directly to the wound.
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Gas mixtures, creosote and carbolic acid had a large vogue in these centuries.
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"They arranged for cattle and kraal natives, deemed at risk of transmitting the bovine contagion, to be doused in a solution of water and carbolic acid."
Academic text (2006) -
The doctor used carbolic acid as a disinfectant to clean the surgical instruments before the operation.
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In the laboratory, carbolic acid is often used to study its effects on various bacterial cultures.
Synonyms
2
8.9
A toxic white chemical used as a disinfectant and in industry
1
9.2
A chemical called phenol once used to kill germs
A toxic white chemical used to make plastics and to kill germs
A white poisonous chemical used in factories and to kill germs
A white poisonous chemical that kills germs and helps make plastics and medicines and is harmful if swallowed
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective + noun compound: 'carbolic' (containing phenol) + 'acid' yields an acid that contains/consists of phenol, matching the given definition. The formation follows regular technical naming patterns for chemicals, so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the meaning.
Etymology
Carbolic acid gets its name from how it was first made: carbolic comes from 'coal' because it was taken from coal tar, and acid shows it is a strong chemical. Because doctors used this strong, sometimes poisonous liquid to kill germs, the name still makes us think of a harsh 'disinfectant'.