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Glite Dictionary
cresol

cresol

9.9
A poisonous chemical from wood or coal tar used to kill germs and make other products
  • noun
  • /ˈkrēˌsōl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cresol
  • Farmers often use cresol to disinfect their equipment and prevent the spread of disease.

Examples

  • In laboratories, cresol is often employed as a disinfectant due to its antibacterial properties.

  • This is how p-cresol (a phenolic solvent) dissolves nylon-6,6.

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  • The chemical compound cresol helps in the synthesis of various industrial chemicals.

Synonyms

methyl phenol
vscresol
  • Specialized
8.6

A poisonous chemical used as a disinfectant and made from coal or wood tar

includes both disinfectant use and wider chemical manufacturing applications

Surface Forms

cresol singular
cresols plural

Morphology

cresol = cres + ol

The productive chemical suffix '-ol' signals a phenol/alcohol class (partly inferable), but the stem 'cres' is a non-standalone combining form with no independent English word, so the specific meaning is not fully derivable.

Etymology

The word cresol comes from older chemical names linked to creosote, the oily substance from wood or coal tar where these chemicals were first found. That's why cresol today means a strong, tar-related chemical often used as a disinfectant and in industry.