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Glite Dictionary
🧪 Like terpenes 🌱 A plant compound
terpenoid

terpenoid

9.1
Relating to chemicals that give plants their smell
  • adjective
  • /ˈtɜr.pə.nɔɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : terpenoide
  • Many essential oils contain terpenoid compounds that contribute to their distinctive aromas.

Examples

  • The flavor of the herb was attributed to its natural terpenoid constituents.

  • Researchers studied the terpenoid structure of the new plant species to understand its medicinal properties.

  • As a nonchemist, I liked the early, clear descriptions of the basic classes of terpenoid and phenolic resins.

    Academic text (2003)

Surface Forms

terpenoid positive

Morphology

terpenoid = terpene (transparent) = terpene + oid

Formed by adding the productive suffix '-oid' (meaning 'like' or 'related to') to 'terpene', so the meaning is directly derived from the base.

Etymology

The word terpenoid comes from terpene, a name taken from an old word for the tree resin 'turpentine', and the ending -oid means 'like' or 'related to'. So, terpenoid describes something 'like' a terpene, for example the smelly compounds in essential oils.