mercaptoalkyl

M3E1R1C3A1P3T1O1A1L1K5Y4L1

noun

An alkyl group having a mercaptan (thiol) substituent

OriginEnglish alkyl ← Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē) ← Proto-Indo-European *swel-der.? →
Scrabble 26
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Meanings

nounmercaptoalkyl (plural mercaptoalkyls)

plural mercaptoalkyls

  1. especiallyin compoundschemistryAn alkyl group having a mercaptan (thiol) substituent

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-
  11. Akkadian𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)
  12. Aramaicכוחלא (kuḥlā)
  13. Arabicكُحْل (kuḥl)
  14. Andalusian Arabicكُحُول (kuḥūl)
  15. Medieval Latinalcoho
  16. Middle Englishalcofol
  17. Englishalc(ohol)
  18. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  19. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  20. Englishalkyl
  21. Englishmercaptoalkyl

From mercapto- + alkyl.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mercaptoalkyl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercaptoalkyl

MLA

“mercaptoalkyl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercaptoalkyl. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mercaptoalkyl,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercaptoalkyl.

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