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Glite Dictionary
lead tetraethyl

lead tetraethyl

9.9
A clear oily poisonous liquid once added to gasoline to reduce engine knocking
  • noun
  • /lɛd ˌtɛtrəˈɛθəl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : tetraetilo de plomo
  • Engineers once added lead tetraethyl to gasoline to reduce engine knocking.

Examples

  • The use of lead tetraethyl in fuels has been banned in many countries due to its toxicity.

  • Exposure to lead tetraethyl can have serious health effects, including neurological damage.

  • The use of lead tetraethyl in gasoline was banned years ago.

  • Many countries have prohibited lead tetraethyl due to its toxicity.

  • Engineers once added lead tetraethyl to gasoline to reduce engine knocking.

  • Exposure to lead tetraethyl can have serious health effects, including neurological damage.

  • The use of lead tetraethyl in fuels has been banned in many countries due to its toxicity.

Synonyms

tetraethyl lead
vslead tetraethyl
  • Archaic
9.4

A clear oily poison once added to petrol or gasoline to stop engine knocking

is identical but uses the gasoline term instead

Surface Forms

lead tetraethyl singular
lead tetraethyls plural

Morphology

lead + tetraethyl

The phrase is compositionally built from 'lead' (the metal) and 'tetraethyl' (having four ethyl groups), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a specific organolead chemical (a lead compound with ethyl substituents). However, the exact properties and conventional usage (a clear, oily gasoline additive and its toxicity) are specialized and not fully predictable from the parts alone, so comprehension is only partial without domain knowledge.

Etymology

The noun lead tetraethyl gets its name from lead and ethyl, where 'tetra' means 'four' and ethyl is a small chemical part. It was a clear, oily liquid added to gasoline to stop engine 'knocking', but it is very 'poisonous' and is now banned in many countries.