/fawr mal"deuh huyd', feuhr-/ , n. Chem.
a colorless, toxic, potentially carcinogenic, water-soluble gas, CH 2 O, having a suffocating odor, usually derived from methyl alcohol by oxidation: used chiefly in aqueous solution, as a disinfectant and preservative, and in the manufacture of various resins and plastics. Also called methanal . Cf. formalin .
[ 1870-75; FORM(IC) + ALDEHYDE; modeled on G Formaldehyd ]