Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe univalent radical CH₃CO- derived from acetic acid.
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe organic group of acetic acid (CH3CO-)
Similar
acetyl groupacetyl radicalethanoyl groupethanoyl radical
Broader
acylacyl group
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱéh₁yeti
- Proto-Italic*akēō
- Latinaceō
- Latinacēscō
- Latinacētum
- Englishaceto-
- Englishacet-
- Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
- Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
- Englishacetyl
aceto- + -yl. From Latin acētum (“vinegar”) + Ancient Greek ὕλη (húlē, “substance”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan acetil
- acetilunivalent radical
Esperanto acetilo
- acetilounivalent radical
Finnish asetyyli
- asetyyliunivalent radical
French acétyl
- acétylunivalent radical
Italian acetile
- acetileunivalent radical
Norwegian Bokmål acetyl
- acetylunivalent radical
Persian استیل
- استیلunivalent radical
Polish acetyl
- acetylunivalent radical
Romanian acetil
- acetilunivalent radical
Spanish acetilo, acetil
- acetilounivalent radical
- acetilunivalent radical
Swedish acetyl
- acetylunivalent radical
Turkish asetil
- asetilunivalent radical
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
acetyl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acetyl
MLA
“acetyl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acetyl. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “acetyl,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acetyl.
Source: acetyl on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.