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Glite Dictionary
tetraethyl lead

tetraethyl lead

9.4
A clear oily poison once added to petrol or gasoline to stop engine knocking
  • noun
  • /ˌtɛtrəˈɛθɪl lɛd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : tetraetilo de plomo
  • The racing car required a special fuel with tetraethyl lead to enhance its performance.
  • the tetraethyl lead additive

Examples

  • The site processed tetraethyl lead, an antiknocking additive for gasoline.

    Academic text (1995)

  • And there he poured tetraethyl lead onto his hands, and he inhaled it for a full minute.

  • Engineers added tetraethyl lead to petrol to reduce knocking in the engine.

  • In the 1920s, tetraethyl lead was widely used as an additive to prevent engine knocking.

Synonyms

lead tetraethyl
vstetraethyl lead
  • Archaic
9.9

A clear oily poisonous liquid once added to gasoline to reduce engine knocking

is the alternate name that places the metal name second

Surface Forms

tetraethyl lead singular
tetraethyl leads plural

Morphology

tetraethyl + lead

The phrase is a straightforward chemical name: combining 'tetraethyl' (with four ethyl groups) and 'lead' (the element) yields a lead compound substituted with four ethyl groups. Although technical, the meaning is compositionally derived and follows regular chemical naming logic, so a learner who knows the constituent parts can infer the basic sense.

Etymology

Tetraethyl lead: The chemical name tetra means 'four', ethyl is the name for a small chemical piece, and lead is the heavy metal in the middle. So the name pictures a piece of lead metal with four ethyl pieces attached, and that is the clear, oily, poisonous liquid once added to petrol to stop engine knocking.