Anthracene
/ˈænθrəsiːn/noun
A crystalline aromatic hydrocarbon found in coal tar and used in dyes, organic synthesis, and research.
Did you know?The disease name anthrax comes from the same Greek root, referring to the coal-like black skin lesions it can produce.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἄνθραξ (ánthrax)
“Coal, charcoal, or a coal-like black substance”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἀνθρακίτης (anthrakítēs)
“Coal-like stone; the source of the modern word anthracite”
Ancient Greek–Roman period
Greek/Latin
anthrax
“A coal-like black ulcer or carbuncle; later the name of the disease”
1832
French/German scientific usage
anthracène / Anthracen
“Name given to a coal-tar hydrocarbon isolated during early nineteenth-century organic chemistry”
19th Century
English
anthracene
“A hydrocarbon obtained from coal tar, later identified as C₁₄H₁₀”
Explore more surprising origins