butane Chem.
(ˈbjuːteɪn)
[f. butyl + -ane 2 b.]
Butyl hydride, C4H10; = tetrane. Also attrib. and Comb.
| 1875 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. XXVIII. 561 The simplest saturated hydrocarbons which afford substitution-products belonging to all the three groups of primary, secondary, and tertiary nitro-compounds, are the two isomeric butanes. 1877 Fownes' Chem. (ed. 12) 47 Normal Butane, Diethyl, or Methyl-propyl. 1918 Colver High Explosives 60 The propane, butane, and pentane hydrocarbons in the form of gases and vapours which can only be condensed with difficulty. 1935 Discovery Dec. 361/1 The allied gas, butane, compressed similarly in cylinders, is now in frequent use for gas-cookers etc. 1953 Ann. Reg. 1952 74 The experimental use of butane-air mixture [for gas supplies] at Whitland. 1958 Engineering 7 Feb. 192/3 A butane burning blowlamp is now marketed in Britain. |