mercaptan

American  

[mer-kap-tan] / mərˈkæp tæn /

noun

Chemistry.

1. any of a class of sulfur-containing compounds having the type formula RSH, in which R represents a radical, and having an extremely offensive, garlicky odor.

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mercaptan British  

/ mɜːˈkæptæn /

noun

1. another name (not in technical usage) for thiol

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mercaptan Scientific  

/ mər-kăp′tăn′ /

1. See thiol

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Etymology

Origin of mercaptan

1825–35; < Latin, short for phrase corpus mercurium captāns body capturing quicksilver

Example Sentences

But when the gas is processed for transport and sale, producers add a chemical called mercaptan to give it a distinctive “rotten egg” smell that helps make people aware of leaks.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 18, 2022

The CAA has also ordered the gas companies to add the pungent ethyl mercaptan to the gas cylinders to make it easier to smell gas leaks.

From Reuters • Dec. 8, 2021

A nontoxic odorant inserted into methane called mercaptan drew “comparisons to rotting cabbage, smelly gym socks or rotten eggs.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2021

Ms. Clayton-Tarvin talked about the area’s layout of gas lines, the trajectory of the smell’s spread and her sense in the odor of a hint of mercaptan — a natural gas additive.

From New York Times • Dec. 16, 2016

An average man can detect just a few molecules of butyl mercaptan, and most of us can sense the presence of musk in vanishingly small amounts.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas