mercapto-

/məɹˈkæptoː/

prefix

an organosulfur compound that contains a carbon-bonded sulfhydryl or sulphydryl

Similar
thiol
OriginLatin mercurium captāns ← Proto-Italic *kapjō ← Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti →
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Meanings

prefix
  1. an organosulfur compound that contains a carbon-bonded sulfhydryl or sulphydryl

    Synonyms: thiol

Synonyms & antonyms

prefixan organosulfur compound that contains a carbon-bonded sulfhydryl or sulphydryl

Similar
thiol

Origin

  1. LatinMercurius
  2. Latinmercurium
  3. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*kapyéti
  5. Proto-Italic*kapjō
  6. Latincapiō
  7. Latincaptō
  8. Latincaptāns
  9. Latinmercurium captāns
  10. Englishmercapto-

The term mercaptan was introduced in 1832 by the Danish chemist William Christopher Zeise and is derived from the Latin mercurium captāns (capturing mercury) because the thiolate group bonds very strongly with mercury compounds.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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