aliphatic

aliphatic Definition

ali·phatic (al′ə fat′ik)

adjective

pertaining to a fat or oil
of or relating to a major group of organic compounds, structured in open chains, including alkanes (paraffins), alkenes (olefins), and alkynes (acetylenes)

Etymology: < Gr aleiphar (gen. aleiphatos), fat, oil + -ic

aliphatic Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

amine: All aliphatic primary amines are stronger bases than ammonia.
hydrocarbon: Our solvent based paints use two solvents, often in combination: - citrus oils, - aliphatic hydrocarbons.
compound: Note: If you aren't sure about naming aliphatic compounds follow this link before you go on.
alcohol: Figure 1: The two possible packing arrangements of aliphatic alcohols in a Langmuir film.
acid: By extension, the term is sometimes used to embrace all acyclic aliphatic carboxylic acids.
chain: Two-dimensional solid-state 2 H and 1 H NMR provides information on molecular dynamics, especially that of the motions of the aliphatic chains.

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