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Glite Dictionary
cyclopropane

cyclopropane

1 8.9
A colorless gas that burns easily and is sometimes used to make people sleep during surgery
  • noun
  • /ˌsaɪkloʊˈproʊpeɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ciclopropano
  • Where's the cyclopropane?

Examples

  • He's got two tanks of cyclopropane, one tank of liquid nitrogen.

    Desperate Measures (1998)

  • So it's so protonated cyclopropane does give this compound.

  • Why would it have a lot of S character in the bond to hydrogen the carbon that's in a cyclopropane, right?

  • Now, where's the cyclopropane?

    Desperate Measures (1998)

  • The doctor chose cyclopropane as the inhalation anesthetic for the procedure.

  • The chemist carefully stored the cyclopropane in a cool, secure location.

  • In the laboratory, the reaction required cyclopropane as a key ingredient.

Surface Forms

cyclopropane singular
cyclopropanes plural

Morphology

cyclopropane = propane (semi-transparent) = cyclo + propane + cyclo

The chemical combining form 'cyclo-' (ring) plus 'propane' is a clear scientific construction, but 'cyclo-' is not general-knowledge vocabulary for typical B1 learners.

Etymology

Cyclopropane is made of two parts: cyclo- meaning 'circle' (as in cycle) and propane, the familiar three-carbon gas. So cyclopropane literally means a 'three-carbon ring', which matches the molecule's ring of three carbon atoms.