aldehyde

A1L1D2E1H4Y4D2E1
/ˈæl.dɪ.haɪd/

noun

Any of a large class of reactive organic compounds (R·CHO) having a carbonyl functional group attached to one hydrocarbon radical and a hydrogen atom.

OriginGerman Aldehyd ← Ancient Greek ῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-) ← Proto-Hellenic *údōr →
Less commonScrabble 16
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Meanings

nounaldehyde (plural aldehydes)

plural aldehydes

  1. chemistryAny of a large class of reactive organic compounds (R·CHO) having a carbonyl functional group attached to one hydrocarbon radical and a hydrogen atom.

    The air smells of strange, oceanic aldehydes.

    2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 180

Origin

  1. Akkadian𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)
  2. Aramaicכוחלא (kuḥlā)
  3. Arabicكُحْل (kuḥl)
  4. Andalusian Arabicكُحُول (kuḥūl)
  5. Latinalcohol
  6. Proto-Indo-European*de
  7. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  8. Proto-Italic*dē
  9. Latindē
  10. Latinde-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  13. Proto-Hellenic*údōr
  14. Ancient Greekῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr)
  15. Ancient Greekῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)
  16. GermanAldehyd
  17. Englishaldehyde

Borrowed from German Aldehyd, a contraction of the Latin al(cohol) dehyd(rogenātum).

More words from German, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan aldehid
  • aldehidorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Chinese Cantonese 醛
  • 醛 (cyun⁴)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Chinese Mandarin 醛
  • 醛 (quán)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Czech aldehyd
  • aldehydorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Danish aldehyd
  • aldehydorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Dutch aldehyde
  • aldehydeorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Esperanto aldehido
  • aldehidoorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Estonian aldehüüd
  • aldehüüdorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Finnish aldehydi
  • aldehydiorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
French aldéhyde
  • aldéhydeorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
German Aldehyd
  • Aldehydorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Greek αλδεΰδη
  • αλδεΰδη (aldeÿ́di)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Hungarian aldehid
  • aldehidorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Indonesian aldehida, alkanal
  • aldehidaorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
  • alkanalorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Irish aildéad
  • aildéadorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Italian aldeide
  • aldeideorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Japanese アルデヒド
  • アルデヒド (arudehido)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Korean 알데하이드, 알데히드
  • 알데하이드 (aldehaideu)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
  • 알데히드 (aldehideu)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Māori (w)hāparotahi
  • (w)hāparotahiorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Norwegian Bokmål aldehyd
  • aldehydorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Persian آلدئید, آلدهید
  • آلدئید (âlde'id)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
  • آلدهید (âldehid)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Polish aldehyd
  • aldehydorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Portuguese aldeído
  • aldeídoorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Russian альдеги́д
  • альдеги́д (alʹdegíd)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Spanish aldehído
  • aldehídoorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Swedish aldehyd
  • aldehydorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Ukrainian альдегі́д
  • альдегі́д (alʹdehíd)organic compound of the general formula R·CHO
Vietnamese anđêhit
  • anđêhitorganic compound of the general formula R·CHO

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

headedly
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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