acyl

A1C3Y4L1
UK, US/ˈæ.sɪl/UK, US/ˈeɪ.saɪl/

noun

Any of class of organic radicals, RCO-, formed by the removal of a hydroxyl group from a carboxylic acid.

Similar
acyl group
OriginAncient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē) ← Proto-Indo-European *swel-der.? ← Latin aceō →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nounacyl (plural acyls)

plural acyls

  1. chemistryAny of class of organic radicals, RCO-, formed by the removal of a hydroxyl group from a carboxylic acid.

    From ethyleneoxides or ethyleneimines carrying an acyl substituent, with hydrazine and its derivatives (Ch. 3. XV).

    2009, Richard H. Wiley, Pyrazoles and Reduced and Condensed Pyrazoles, Volume 22, page 387

Synonyms & antonyms

nounany group or radical of the form RCO- where R is an organic group

Similar
acyl group
Broader
groupradicalchemical group

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱéh₁yeti
  3. Proto-Italic*akēō
  4. Latinaceō
  5. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  6. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  7. Englishacyl

Ultimately from Latin ac(eō) + -yl.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan acil
  • acilany of a class of organic radicals
Chinese Cantonese 酰, 醯
  • 酰any of a class of organic radicals
  • 醯 (hei³)any of a class of organic radicals
Chinese Mandarin 酰, 醯
  • 酰 (xiān)any of a class of organic radicals
  • 醯 (xī)any of a class of organic radicals
Finnish asyyli
  • asyyliany of a class of organic radicals
French acyle
  • acyleany of a class of organic radicals
German Acyl
  • Acylany of a class of organic radicals
Irish aicil
  • aicilany of a class of organic radicals
Italian acile
  • acileany of a class of organic radicals
Japanese アシル基
  • アシル基 (ashiru-ki)any of a class of organic radicals
Korean 아실기
  • 아실기 (asilgi)any of a class of organic radicals
Polish acyl
  • acylany of a class of organic radicals
Portuguese acila
  • acilaany of a class of organic radicals
Romanian acil
  • acilany of a class of organic radicals
Spanish acil, acilo
  • acilany of a class of organic radicals
  • aciloany of a class of organic radicals

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

claylacy
Cite this entry
APA

acyl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acyl

MLA

“acyl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acyl. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “acyl,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acyl.

Source: acyl on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.