Phenyl
//ˈfiː.naɪl// noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A univalent hydrocarbon radical, C₆H₅ (benzene minus one hydrogen atom), and the basis of an immense number of aromatic derivatives.
Etymology
Borrowed from French phényle, derived from the root of Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō, “to shine”) plus ὕλη (húlē, “wood; material, substance”). Equivalent to phen- + -yl.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.