noun

• 1Chemistry
  A malodorous, toxic, spontaneously flammable liquid compound containing arsenic.

  Chemical formula: ((CH₃)₂As)₂

  ‘The investigation and identification of cacodyl by Bunsen in 1848 was to mark the beginning of the era of organometallic chemistry.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘She had previously tackled cacodyl, ogygian and zeitgeber.’
  • ‘There he distilled arsenic with potassium acetate to arrive at a cacodyl (also known as alkarsine or Cadet's liquid), a malodorous compound that the named after the Greek term for ‘stinky’ (kak dl s).’
  • ‘Berzelius coined the name kakodyl (later changed to cacodyl) for the dimethylarsinyl radical ((CH 3) 2 As) from the Greek kakodes (evil-smelling) and hyle (matter).’

  1. 1.1as modifier Of or denoting the radical —As(CH₃)₂, derived from cacodyl.