ethylene Chem.
(ˈɛθɪliːn)
[f. ethyl + -ene.]
1. The diatomic hydrocarbon or olefine of the ethyl series, C2H4; also known as ethene, an important constituent of coal gas.
| 1852 H. Watts tr. Gmelin's Hand-bk. Chem. VII. 32 Ethylene (olefiant gas) = C4H4. 1869 Roscoe Elem. Chem. 358 Ethylene, known as olefiant gas, has already been mentioned. 1878 A. Green Coal vi. 207 One of the most important of these hydro-carbons is known as ethylene or ethene. 1881 Athenæum 26 Feb. 303/1 By heating glycol with an excess of fuming hydrochloric acid in a sealed tube to 100°, the author has converted this substance into ethylene dichloride. |
2. The bivalent hydrocarbon radical {b1}CH
2CH
2{b1}. So
ˌethyleneˈdiamine, a viscous, strongly alkaline liquid, C
2H
4(NH
2)
2, that acts as a chelating agent in the formation of complexes and is used industrially;
ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid, [{b1}CH
2N(CH
2COOH)
2]
2, a compound widely used,
esp. in the form of its salts, as a chelating and sequestering agent in industry, biology, and medicine;
abbrev. EDTA;
ethylene glycol, a sweet-tasting liquid, HOCH
2CH
2OH, used chiefly in anti-freezes;
ethylene oxide, the simplest epoxide, (CH
2)
2O, a colourless gas used chiefly as a chemical intermediate and fumigant.
| 1966 Nomencl. Org. Chem. (A & B) (I.U.P.A.C.) (ed. 2) 16 The names of bivalent radicals derived from normal alkanes by removal of a hydrogen atom from each of the two terminal carbon atoms of the chain are ethylene, trimethylene, tetramethylene, etc. |
| 1861 G. Fownes Man. Elem. Chem. (ed. 8) 606 (heading) *Ethylene-diamine and diethylene-diamine. 1967 Martindale's Extra Pharmacopoeia (ed. 25) 252 Ethylenediamine hydrate is used in the manufacture of aminophylline and in the preparation of aminophylline injections. |
| 1942 Brit. Chem. Abstr. Ai. 334 (heading) Copper, nickel, and uranyl compounds of *ethylenediaminotetra-acetic acid. 1959 Sci. News LII. 7 The degree of hardness of water..could be measured precisely by an elegant titration with an organic compound then mainly used as a textile auxiliary, ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (usually abbreviated to EDTA). 1964 S. Duke-Elder Parsons' Dis. Eye (ed. 14) xxvi. 378 Irrigation with..a solution of the sodium salt of ethylene-diamine tetra-acetic acid..diminishes scarring in lime burns. 1964 L. Martin Clinical Endocrinol. (ed. 4) iv. 158 Edetic acid (ethylenediamine-tetra-acetic acid, EDTA) is a chelating agent which reduces the amount of ionized calcium in the blood. |
| 1901 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. LXXX. i. 307 The boiling points of *ethylene glycol under varying pressures have been determined. 1959 Ethylene-glycol [see anti-freeze a. and n.]. |
| 1898 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. LXXIV. i. 399 *Ethylene oxide reacts vigorously with ethylamine. 1933 Discovery Aug. 250/2 Control [of the Cacao moth] can also be exercised by vacuum fumigation with ethylene oxide. 1962 Listener 20 Sept. 430/1 Another method of sterilization [of a space capsule] is to use the gas known as ethylene oxide. |
Hence
ethylenic (
-ˈliːnɪk)
a., containing, derived from, or characteristic of ethylene; used
spec. of a double bond between two carbon atoms.
| 1880 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. XXXVIII. 604 (heading) Heats of combustion of glycerol and of ethylenic glycol. 1946 Nature 14 Dec. 876/2 The lachrymatory activity of some ethylenic compounds. 1964 N. G. Clark Mod. Org. Chem. ii. 14 The pair of valency bonds..which is the essential feature of the olefins and upon which their chemical properties depend, is referred to as an ethylenic or olefinic bond. |