Standard Lemma guide

tetrafluoroethylene

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The gaseous unsaturated halogenated hydrocarbon, F2C=CF2, that is used as a monomer in the production of polytetrafluoroethylene

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a flammable gaseous fluorocarbon used in making plastics (polytetrafluoroethylene resins)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fluorocarbon

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kwetwóres Proto-Hellenic *kwétwores Ancient Greek τέσσᾰρες (téssăres) Ancient Greek τετρᾰ- (tetră-)bor. English tetra- Proto-Indo-European *bhel-der. Proto-Indo-European *bhlewH-der. Proto-Indo-European *bhluH-yé-ti? Latin fluō Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Italic *-ōs Latin -or Latin fluor Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der. Latin -o-bor. English -o- English fluoro- Proto-Indo-European *h2eydh-der. Proto-Hellenic *áithō Ancient Greek αἴθω (aíthō) ▲ Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)influ.? Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr)der. Latin aethērbor. German Äther German Ether Proto-Indo-European *swel-der.? Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)der. German -yl German Ethylbor. English ethyl English eth- English -ylene English ethylene English tetrafluoroethylene From tetra- + fluoro- + ethylene.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: tetrafluoroetilè — hydrocarbon
  • Finnish: tetrafluorieteeni — hydrocarbon
  • Finnish: tetrafluorietyleeni — hydrocarbon
  • Italian: tetrafluoroetilene — hydrocarbon