phenylacetamide

9.9

A white solid chemical used to make dyes and rubber products and related to the pain medicine paracetamol

noun
/ˌfɛnɪlˈæsɪtəˌmaɪd/

Specialized

: fenilacetamida

The production of dyes often involves phenylacetamide as a key intermediate chemical.

Examples

This video will use naphthalene and phenylacetamide, salicylic acid and succinic acid.
Researchers discovered that phenylacetamide could enhance the effects of certain pharmaceuticals.
Phenylacetamide is commonly used in laboratory settings for the synthesis of various phenylacetamide compounds.

Surface Forms

phenylacetamide singular

phenylacetamides plural

Morphology

phenylacetamide = phenyl + acetamide (opaque) = phenyl + acet + amide

Although analyzable as 'phenyl' + 'acetamide', the components are technical chemical combining forms unlikely to be meaningful to an average B1 learner outside a chemistry context.

Etymology

Phenylacetamide breaks into three clear parts: phenyl, acet, and amide. The acet part comes from acetic meaning 'vinegar', amide is related to 'ammonia', and phenyl is a common chemical piece found in many compounds, so the name simply says it is an 'amide' attached to a 'phenyl' part, which is why chemists use it in making dyes and drugs.