Definitions

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

  • adjective Of, relating to, or designating a group of organic chemical compounds in which the carbon atoms are linked in open chains.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to fat; fatty; specifically, in chem., designating compounds which have only an open chain of carbon atoms, as distinguished especially from aromatic compounds, which contain a ring of carbon atoms, he natural fats consist chiefly of compounds of this type.

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

  • adjective (Org. Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, fat; fatty; -- applied to compounds having an open-chain structure. The aliphatic compounds thus include not only the fatty acids and other derivatives of the paraffin hydrocarbons, but also unsaturated compounds, as the ethylene and acetylene series. Compare alicyclic and aromatic.

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

  • adjective organic chemistry Of a class of organic compounds in which the carbon atoms are arranged in an open chain.
  • noun A compound of this type.
  • noun A petroleum fraction containing no aromatic compounds

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

  • adjective having carbon atoms linked in open chains

Etymologies

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

[From Greek aleiphar, aleiphat-, oil, from aleiphein, to anoint with oil; see leip- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἄλειφαρ (aleiphar, "oil, ointment").

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Examples

  • For example, among a class of compounds known as aliphatic esters, ethyl acetate has a fruity, rummy smell.

    The Tastemaker in Her Flavor Factory Alexandra Alter 2011

  • And those tests, Sawyer says, are routinely turning up long-chain "aliphatic" hydrocarbons associated with liver damage.

    msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines 2010

  • Aspiration of aliphatic hydrocarbons may result in lethargy, tremors, and, rarely, convulsions or coma.

    Hydrocarbon Ingestion 2010

  • The first group includes aliphatic hydrocarbons such as kerosene, mineral spirits, gasoline, naphtha and mineral seal oil.

    Hydrocarbon Ingestion 2010

  • Death from CNS depression following aliphatic hydrocarbon ingestion has not been reported. 3

    Hydrocarbon Ingestion 2010

  • In fact, petroleum distillate refers to a type of hydrocarbon which results from the processing of crude oil, and may be aliphatic or aromatic.

    Hydrocarbon Ingestion 2010

  • Symptoms of aliphatic hydrocarbon ingestion, in the absence of toxic substituents, are confined to the gastrointestinal tract and the respiratory tract.

    Hydrocarbon Ingestion 2010

  • There are a number of others under investigation: oil-based emulsions, products from bacteria, liposomes, endotoxins, and aliphatic amines.

    Dr. Sherri Tenpenny: Novartis Is Celebrating. Should We? 2009

  • Isoparaffinic Hydrocarbon Solvent The patent recommends Exxsol D60 , a proprietary goo concocted by ExxonMobil Chemical and described as an "aliphatic hydrocarbon"—a hydrocarbon without aromatic ring molecules.

    What's Inside Raid? Watch Out, Kitty! 2008

  • Isoparaffinic Hydrocarbon Solvent The patent recommends Exxsol D60 , a proprietary goo concocted by ExxonMobil Chemical and described as an "aliphatic hydrocarbon"—a hydrocarbon without aromatic ring molecules.

    What's Inside Raid? Watch Out, Kitty! 2008

Comments

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  • I came across it in the term aliphatic polyurethane coating in relation to the corrosion protection of steelwork

    April 4, 2016