ETHYLENE

noun Date: circa 1852 a colorless flammable gaseous unsaturated hydrocarbon C 2 H 4 that is found in coal gas, can be produced by pyrolysis of petroleum hydrocarbons, and occurs in plants functioning especially as a natural growth regulator that promotes the ripening of fruit, a divalent hydrocarbon group C 2 H 4 derived from ethane, ethylenic adjective