ethyl alcohol
- noun
- /ˈɛθɪl ˈæl.kə.hɔl/
- Specialized
- In the production of beverages, ethyl alcohol is often the primary ingredient used in fermentation.
- ethyl alcohol is ethanol
Examples
-
For liquid refreshment, we had lemonade and a couple of quarts of distilled ethyl alcohol.
Fiction book (1993) -
Antiseptic wipes often contain ethyl alcohol to effectively kill germs and prevent infection.
-
- Do you have any ethyl alcohol?
-
The addition of an antiseptic such as ethyl alcohol helps prevent itchiness and also serves as a drying agent.
Academic text (2006) -
It is also necessary to emphasize the fact that ethyl alcohol and tobacco were also very significant commodities used by all groups.
Academic text (2007) -
In the lab, scientists use ethyl alcohol as a solvent for various chemical reactions and analyses.
Synonyms
A clear flammable liquid that is the alcohol in drinks and used as a fuel and to dissolve things
Pure alcohol made by heating fermented grain, used in medicine, as a solvent or fuel additive
Pure alcohol with almost no water used in labs
Very strong pure alcohol used in labs or for cleaning
Very strong clear alcohol used to make drinks like gin or liqueurs
A liquid made by fermenting sugar that is used in beer, wine, and industry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: it denotes the alcohol that contains an ethyl (C2H5) group, i.e. ethanol. For a learner who already knows 'ethyl' and 'alcohol', this follows regular chemical naming patterns (cross-linguistically common), so the overall meaning is inferable rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
Ethyl alcohol is like a name tag: ethyl tells which kind and alcohol is the common word for the drinkable, strong liquid. So the name means the specific chemical 'ethanol' used in drinks, hand sanitizers, and as a fuel.