mercaptan

Borrowed from German Mercaptan, from Danish mercaptan; coined by organic chemist William Christopher Zeise in 1832 from mer(curius) (“mercury”) +‎ captan(s) (“capturing”), because the thiolate group bonds very strongly with mercury compounds.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məˈkapt(ə)n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mɚˈkæpt(ə)n/

• Rhymes: (US, General Australian) -æptən

mercaptan (plural mercaptans)

1. (chemistry) Any of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, ( R-SH ) where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. They tend to be foul-smelling. They are also termed thiols or thioalcohols.
   • 2022 April 25, AlfredCamera, “Spotting Gas Leak Symptoms and Staying Safe”, in Home Security Expert‎^[1]:

     Though this might come as a surprise, gas actually has no odor; gas companies are obligated to odorize it to make it safer for use in homes.
     
     Mercaptan, a harmless chemical, is added to create the distinct smell in both natural gas (methane) and liquid petroleum gas (propane, butane).

• mercapto
• sulfide
• organosulfide

Ultimately from Danish mercaptan, which see.

mercaptan m (plural mercaptans)

1. (chemistry) mercaptan

• “mercaptan”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Borrowed from French mercaptan.

mercaptan m (plural mercaptani)

1. mercaptan