Lexic.us

Definition of Carbolic acid

1. Noun. A toxic white soluble crystalline acidic derivative of benzene; used in manufacturing and as a disinfectant and antiseptic; poisonous if taken internally.

Definition of Carbolic acid

1. Noun. an older name for phenol (C₆H₅OH) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Carbolic acid

1. 1. A white or pinkish crystalline substance, C6H5OH, produced by the destructive distillation of many organic bodies, as wood, coal, etc, and obtained from the heavy oil from coal tar. It has a peculiar odour, somewhat resembling creosote, which is a complex mixture of phenol derivatives. It is of the type of alcohols, and is called also phenyl alcohol, but has acid properties, and hence is popularly called carbolic acid, and was formerly called phenic acid. It is a powerful caustic poison, and in dilute solution has been used as an antiseptic. 2. Any one of the series of hydroxyl derivatives of which phenol proper is the type. Glacial phenol, any one of a series of compounds having both phenol and aldehyde properties. Phenol phthalein. See Phthalein. Origin: Gr. To show + -ol: cf. F. Phenol. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Carbolic Acid

Literary usage of Carbolic acid

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences by Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.) (1908)
"Treatment with carbolic acid is not as well suited to large furuncles as to the ... Impetigo contagiosa is quickly cured by applications of carbolic acid, ..."

2. Preventive medicine and hygiene by Milton Joseph Rosenau (1917)
"carbolic acid.—carbolic acid is a very useful disinfecting substance with a wide ... carbolic acid is a popular term for an ill-defined mixture consisting ..."

3. The Practitioner by Gale Group, ProQuest Information and Learning Company (1869)
"A solution of crystallized carbolic acid, one part to two or three of distilled water, ... To prevent evaporation of the carbolic acid, a piece of tin, ..."

4. The Analyst (1877)
"THE ANALYST. volume of the crude carbolic acid obtained, the per centage contained in the powder cau at once be ascertained. Of course the weight of the ..."

5. Pharmaceutical Journal by Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1868)
"based upon the direct transformation of benzine into carbolic acid, ... This carbolic acid is distinguished from Laurent's in being soluble in 20 parts of ..."

6. A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry by Thomas Edward Thorpe (1921)
"EF A, carbolic acid. Phenol C,H6-OH. The tar produced in gas manufacture was until the late war the chief source of carbolic acid. ..."

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