Cacodyl Definition & Meaning

Origin of Cacodyl

Greek kakōdēs bad-smelling (kakos bad kakka- in Indo-European roots) (-ōdēs -smelling) (from ozein ōd- to smell) –yl

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Ancient Greek κακώδης (kakōdēs, “evil smelling”)

From Wiktionary

It is detected by heating with ordinary alcohol and sulphuric acid, which gives rise to acetic ester or ethyl acetate, recognized by its" fragrant odour; or by heating with arsenious oxide, which forms the pungent and poisonous cacodyl oxide.
Analytical problems, such as the isolation of certain organic radicals, attracted his attention to begin with, but he soon turned to synthetical studies, and he was only about twenty-five years of age when an investigation, doubtless suggested by the work of his master, Bunsen, on cacodyl, yielded the interesting discovery of the organo-metallic compounds.
Arsenic compounds can be detected in the dry way by heating in a tube with a mixture of sodium carbonate and charcoal when a deposit of black amorphous arsenic is produced on the cool part of the tube, or by conversion of the compound into the trioxide and heating with dry sodium acetate when the offensive odour of the extremely poisonous cacodyl oxide is produced.
The dimethyl arsine (or cacodyl) compounds have been most studied.

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