furan

F4U1R1A1N1
UK/ˈfjʊə.ɹæn/US/ˈfjʊɹ.æn/

noun

Any of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds containing a ring of four carbon atoms, two double bonds and an oxygen atom; especially the simplest one, C₄H₄O.

Similar
furanefurfuran
OriginEnglish furfural ← German Aldehyd ← Ancient Greek ῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-) →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

nounfuran (plural furans)

plural furans

  1. chemistryAny of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds containing a ring of four carbon atoms, two double bonds and an oxygen atom; especially the simplest one, C₄H₄O.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna colorless toxic flammable liquid used in the synthesis of nylon

Similar
furanefurfuran
Broader
organic compound
Also see
furfuran

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

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

From furfural + -an.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan furan
  • furanany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Chinese Cantonese 呋喃
  • 呋喃 (fu¹ naam⁴)any of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Chinese Mandarin 呋喃
  • 呋喃 (fūnán)any of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Finnish furaani
  • furaaniany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
French furane
  • furaneany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
German Furan
  • Furanany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Greek φουράνιο
  • φουράνιο (fouránio)any of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Hungarian furán
  • furánany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Italian furano
  • furanoany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Japanese フラン
  • フラン (furan)any of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Korean 퓨란
  • 퓨란 (pyuran)any of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Polish furan
  • furanany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Portuguese furano
  • furanoany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds
Spanish furano
  • furanoany of a class of aromatic heterocyclic compounds

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Urfan
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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