ethanol

E1T1H4A1N1O1L1
UK/ˈɛθ.ə.nɒl/US/ˈɛθ.ə.nɑl/

noun

A simple aliphatic alcohol formally derived from ethane by replacing one hydrogen atom with a hydroxyl group: CH₃-CH₂-OH.

Similar
alcoholethyl alcoholethyl hydrateethyl hydroxideethylolEtOHmonohydroxyethanegrain alcohol
OriginEnglish alcohol ← Middle English alcofol ← Medieval Latin alcoho →
CommonScrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounethanol (usually uncountable, plural ethanols)

plural ethanols

  1. uncountableusuallychemistryA simple aliphatic alcohol formally derived from ethane by replacing one hydrogen atom with a hydroxyl group: CH₃-CH₂-OH.

    Our stomachs and livers have an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase that breaks down ethanol to make it less toxic for our bodies, said Atlanta gastroenterologist Dr. Preston Stewart.

    2012 September 26, Jacque Wilson, “Experts: Alcohol enemas ‘extremely dangerous’”, in CNN

    Synonyms: alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ethyl hydrate, ethyl hydroxide, ethylol, EtOH, monohydroxyethane, grain alcohol

  2. uncountableusuallySpecifically, this form of alcohol as a fuel.

    In 2007, not one drop of ethanol was produced in Ohio. Today, four ethanol facilities in Ohio are producing two hundred and ninety-five million gallons annually.

    2010 January 26, Ted Strickland, Ohio State of the State Address, 05:25–39

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA simple aliphatic alcohol formally derived from ethane by replacing one hydrogen atom with a hydroxyl group: CH₃-CH₂-OH.

Similar
alcoholethyl alcoholethyl hydrateethyl hydroxideethylolEtOHmonohydroxyethanegrain alcoholmethylcarbinolE1510

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe intoxicating agent in fermented and distilled liquors; used pure or denatured as a solvent or in medicines and colognes and cleaning solutions and rocket fuel; proposed as a renewable clean-burning additive to gasoline

Similar
ethyl alcoholfermentation alcoholgrain alcohol
Broader
alcoholplant product
Also see
ethyl alcoholethyl hydrateethyl hydroxideethylolgrain alcoholmonohydroxyethane

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eydʰ-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*áitʰō
  3. Ancient Greekαἴθω (aíthō)
  4. Ancient Greekᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)influ.?
  5. Ancient Greekαἰθήρ (aithḗr)
  6. Latinaethēr
  7. GermanÄther
  8. GermanEther
  9. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  10. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  11. GermanEthy
  12. Englishethyl
  13. Akkadian𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)
  14. Aramaicכוחלא (kuḥlā)
  15. Arabicكُحْل (kuḥl)
  16. Andalusian Arabicكُحُول (kuḥūl)
  17. Medieval Latinalcoho
  18. Middle Englishalcofol
  19. Englishalcohol
  20. Englishethyl
  21. Englisheth-
  22. Englishethane
  23. Englishalcohol
  24. Englishethanol

Contracted from ethyl + alcohol. Ethyl is from Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “ether”), influenced by German Äthyl. May be decomposed as ethane + -ol.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans etanol
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Arabic إِيثَانُول
  • إِيثَانُول (ʔiṯānūl)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Bulgarian етано́л
  • етано́л (etanól)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Catalan etanol
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Chinese Cantonese 乙醇
  • 乙醇 (jyut⁶ seon⁴)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Chinese Mandarin 乙醇
  • 乙醇 (yǐchún)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Czech etanol, ethanol
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • ethanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • ethylalkoholsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Danish ætanol, ethanol
  • ætanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • ethanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Esperanto etanolo
  • etanolosimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Finnish etanoli
  • etanolisimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
French éthanol
  • éthanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
German Ethanol, Äthanol
  • Ethanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • Äthanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Greek αιθανόλη, αιθυλική αλκοόλη
  • αιθανόλη (aithanóli)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • αιθυλική αλκοόλη (aithylikí alkoóli)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • οινόπνευμα (oinópnevma)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Hebrew אֶתָנוֹל
  • אֶתָנוֹל (etanól)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Hindi दक्षिन्यव
  • दक्षिन्यव (dakṣinyav)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Hungarian etanol
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Indonesian etanol
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Italian etanolo
  • etanolosimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Japanese エタノール
  • エタノール (etanōru)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Korean 에탄올
  • 에탄올 (etanol)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Norwegian Bokmål etanol
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Persian اتانول
  • اتانول (etânol)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Polish alkohol etylowy, etanol
  • alkohol etylowysimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Portuguese etanol, álcool etílico
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • álcool etílicosimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Russian этано́л
  • этано́л (etanól)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Spanish etanol, alcohol etílico
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • alcohol etílicosimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Swedish etanol
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Thai เอทานอล, เอทิลแอลกอฮอล์
  • เอทานอลsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • เอทิลแอลกอฮอล์simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Turkish etanol
  • etanolsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Ukrainian етано́л, ви́нний спирт
  • етано́л (etanól)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • ви́нний спирт (výnnyj spyrt)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • ети́ловий спирт (etýlovyj spyrt)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Urdu دکشنیو
  • دکشنیو (dakṣinyav)simple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
Vietnamese cồn, rượu ethylic
  • cồnsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH
  • rượu ethylicsimple aliphatic alcohol: CH3-CH2-OH

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Athloneanthole
Cite this entry
APA

ethanol. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethanol

MLA

“ethanol.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethanol. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ethanol,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethanol.

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