fusel oil

fu·sel oil

an oily, acrid, poisonous liquid occurring in imperfectly distilled alcoholic products and consisting chiefly of amyl alcohols: small amounts contribute to the characteristic flavor of a whiskey

Origin of fusel oil

German fusel, inferior liquor from Classical Latin fusilis, fusil

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"fusel oil." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 07 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fusel-oil>.

APA Style

fusel oil. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fusel-oil

fusel oil

noun

An acrid, oily, poisonous liquid mixture of amyl alcohols, occurring in incompletely distilled alcoholic liquids and used as a solvent and in the manufacture of explosives and pure amyl alcohols.

Origin of fusel oil

German Fusel bad liquor from Low German

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"fusel oil." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 07 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fusel-oil>.

APA Style

fusel oil. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fusel-oil

An acrid, oily, poisonous liquid occurring in the distillation products of fermented alcoholic liquids. Fusel oil is a mixture of amyl alcohols, fatty acids, and esters. It is used in paints, plastics, and varnishes, and in the manufacture of explosives.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"fusel oil." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 07 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fusel-oil>.

APA Style

fusel oil. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fusel-oil

Noun

(plural fusel oils)

A mixture of several higher-order alcohols (alcohols with more than two carbon atoms) formed as byproduct in the normal fermentation process. An excessive concentration, as in low-quality moonshine, causes unpleasant taste.

Origin

The word "fusel" comes from German Fusel, which is used to refer to low-quality alcoholic beverages in general, especially to inferior wines and spirits distilled with inadequate equipment.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"fusel oil." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 07 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/fusel-oil>.

APA Style

fusel oil. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/fusel-oil

fusel oil

fusel oil

Also Mentioned In

Words near fusel oil in the dictionary

fusel oil

fusel oil

Also Mentioned In

Words near fusel oil in the dictionary

Join YourDictionary today