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wood alcohol

wood alcohol

1 7.1
A poisonous, flammable liquid once made from wood that people use as fuel or solvent
  • noun
  • /wʊd ˈæl.kə.hɔl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : alcohol metílico
  • I boiled off the wood alcohol and everything.
  • wood alcohol or methanol

Examples

  • Methanol is commonly known as wood alcohol and can be extremely toxic if ingested.

  • Many industrial products are derived from wood alcohol, including antifreeze and solvents.

  • Methanol is also referred to as wood alcohol.

    Blog text (17)
  • So the theory was that wood spirits was that that is wood alcohol was a combination of methylene plus water.

  • Simple things, like keeping the wood alcohol in the garage and not in the kitchen cupboard, minimize the risk of accidental poisoning.

    Blog text (26)
  • Over 10,000 people died during Prohibition from drinking wood alcohol.

    Blog text (32)
  • CAUTION: Always store wood alcohol out of reach of children to prevent accidental poisoning.

Synonyms

methanol
vswood alcohol
17 6.5

A light poisonous alcohol used as fuel, solvent, and antifreeze

is the older term that highlights historic wood distillation
methyl alcohol
vswood alcohol
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A poisonous clear liquid that burns easily and is used to stop freezing, to dissolve things, and as fuel

is the traditional name stressing past production from wood
wood spirit
vswood alcohol
  • Specialized
9.4

A poisonous alcohol people make by heating wood, used as fuel or solvent

is the modern chemical name used without the historical origin note

Antonyms

Safe to eat, touch, or use

Surface Forms

wood alcohol singular
wood alcohols plural

Morphology

wood + alcohol

The compound is compositionally transparent in that a learner who knows 'wood' and 'alcohol' will infer an alcohol derived from or related to wood. However, the specific chemical identity (methanol) and its toxic/industrial implications are specialized knowledge not predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partly transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

Wood alcohol comes from the old way people made it: they heated and treated wood to produce a simple alcohol, so the name was literal. Today wood alcohol means the poisonous, flammable liquid 'methanol' often used as fuel or solvent.