vinyl ether
- noun
- /ˈvaɪnəl ˈiːθər/
- Archaic
:
éter vinílico
- In the past, vinyl ether was chosen for certain surgical procedures requiring inhalation anesthesia.
Examples
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The use of vinyl ether as an anesthetic has declined due to safety concerns.
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Chemists handled vinyl ether with care because of its flammable nature.
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The laboratory used vinyl ether for various experiments.
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Can you explain what vinyl ether is?
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In medical history, vinyl ether was commonly used as a volatile inhalation anesthetic during surgeries.
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Due to its highly flammable characteristics, vinyl ether must be stored in a cool, well-ventilated area.
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During the 1950s, the use of vinyl ether as an anesthetic gained popularity among anesthesiologists.
Synonyms
32
7.9
A colorless liquid once used to make people sleep during operations
4
8.4
A clear, strong-smelling liquid once used to make patients sleep during surgery
4
9.1
A medicine that people breathe to make them sleep for surgery
1
8.4
A liquid that is breathed in during surgery to make a person sleep and feel no pain
A colorless, very flammable liquid once used to make patients unconscious by breathing it
A clear, very flammable liquid once used to make people sleep during surgery and to dissolve chemicals
A clear liquid that catches fire easily, once used to make people sleep for operations and as a lab solvent
A clear liquid that catches fire easily and was used to make people sleep during surgery and to dissolve substances
A liquid doctors give to make people unconscious during surgery by breathing it
A liquid doctors give by breathing to make people sleep during surgery
A gas or vapor you breathe to make you sleep during surgery
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a straightforward noun–noun chemical formation: 'vinyl' denotes a –CH=CH2 group and 'ether' denotes a flammable liquid/anesthetic, so 'vinyl ether' is transparently an ether that contains a vinyl group (i.e., a specific type of ether). This type-of compound formation is standard in chemistry and cross-linguistically predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Vinyl ether comes from its two parts: vinyl, a small chemical piece, and ether, a kind of liquid once breathed in to make people sleep for surgery. So the name points to a liquid 'anesthetic' with a vinyl part, which is why vinyl ether was used as an inhaled anesthetic.