ˈnafthəˌlēn, ÷ ˈnapth- noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration (influenced by -ene ) of earlier naphthaline, from naphtha + connective -l- + -ine
: a crystalline aromatic hydrocarbon C 10 H 8 that has a characteristic odor, that is the most abundant component of coal tar and is usually obtained by distillation of tar and by recovery from coke-oven gas, that is constituted of two fused benzene rings and yields two varieties of monosubstitution products by substitution in the alpha or 1- and beta or 2-positions, and that is used chiefly as a raw material in organic syntheses (as of phthalic anhydride and many dye intermediates) and as a fumigant (as in moth balls) — see decahydronaphthalene , tetrahydronaphthalene ; compare structural formula