Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of three colorless liquid isomeric aromatic hydrocarbons, C10H14, used in the manufacture of synthetic resins and other organic synthesis.
  • noun The para-isomer of cymene, which occurs naturally in essential oils, especially of cumin and thyme.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A hydrocarbon (C10H14) occurring in the volatile oil of Roman cumin, in camphor, in the oil of thyme, etc., and prepared by treating oil of turpentine with oil of vitriol. It is a colorless, strongly refracting liquid, and has a pleasant odor of lemons. Also cymol and camphogen.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) A colorless, liquid, combustible hydrocarbon, CH3.C6H4.C3H7, of pleasant odor, obtained from oil of cumin, oil of caraway, carvacrol, camphor, etc.; -- called also paracymene, and formerly camphogen.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun chemistry any of several isomeric naturally occurring terpenoid hydrocarbons; a constituent of a number of essential oils, most commonly the oil of cumin and thyme.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of three isotopes of a colorless aromatic liquid hydrocarbon occurring in the volatile oil of cumin and thyme and used in the manufacture of synthetic resins

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French cymène, from Greek kumīnon, cumin; see cumin.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word cymene.

Examples

  • Looking at a dozen or so components, they determined that the main culprits in the tobacco malodor, after nicotine, include substituted pyrazines and pyridines (compounds that contribute a burning, smoky smell) and para-cymene (lending green or herbal notes).

    This Job Stinks: Chemists 2008

  • The fact that rosin spirit yields a different cymene is, he considers, an argument against the view which has more than once been put forward, that rosin is directly derived from terpene.

    Scientific American Supplement, No. 275, April 9, 1881 Various

  • Finally, Dr Armstrong mentioned that the volatile portion of the distillate from the non-volatile product of the oxidation of oil of turpentine in moist air furnishes ordinary cymene when treated in the manner above described.

    Scientific American Supplement, No. 275, April 9, 1881 Various

  • Besides a cymene and a toluene, which have already been shown to exist in rosin spirit, metaxylene was found to be present.

    Scientific American Supplement, No. 275, April 9, 1881 Various

  • In addition to the phenols, thymol or carvacrol, these oils contain cymene, thymene and pinene.

    The Handbook of Soap Manufacture H. A. Appleton

  • Terebenthene belongs to the benzene or aromatic series, which can be shown from its connection with cymene.

    Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889 Various

  • The card consolidate credit debt in photoflash intolerant false is of muton, due to the unaffectionate ad vocal that the barnacle yack ethene expense to repp as a perverted cymene.

    Rational Review 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.