User Contributed Dictionary
Etymology
From amylum + -yl. Compare with amidin.Pronunciation
- a RP /ˈæmɪl/
Noun
- dated organic chemistry pentyl
Derived terms
References
Extensive Definition
Biochemistry
In biochemistry, "amyl" means "pertaining to
starch". Many moderately complex biological chemicals related to
starch contain it, for example:-
Note that in this usage, it is a part of the
word, and becomes "amylo" when preceding a consonant.
Chemistry
In organic chemistry, amyl is the old trivial name
for the alkyl functional
group and radical
called pentyl under the
IUPAC
nomenclature: that is, -C5H11. This usage may derive from the
presence of amyl alcohol in fusel oil,
which is often fermented
from starches. In this usage, amyl (normally) remains a separate
word and it does not become "amylo-" before a consonant.
Several important amyl/pentyl compounds are still
widely known by their older, amyl names, including:
There are eight possible isomers of amyl; see under
pentyl for more
information. Frequently chemicals sold commercially as amyl
compounds will be a mixture of several isomers.
"E-Amyl" is the name of the equivalent drug often
sniffed by players of the game Second
Life
Etymology
"Amyl", used to mean "starch", was taken from Greek αμυλος = "cake made from fine flour", from α + μυλη = "not mill" because the flour used to make an αμυλος was not ground on the same grindstones as ordinary bread flour.See also
amyl in Dutch: Amyl