Standard Lemma guide

tetrahydrofuran

noun · 1 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A heterocyclic ether having a five-membered ring with four carbon atoms and one oxygen; it is a colourless liquid with an ether-like smell, and is used as a polar solvent.

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

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 *wed- Proto-Indo-European *-r̥ Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ Proto-Hellenic *údōr Ancient Greek ῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr) Ancient Greek ῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)der. English hydro- Latin furfur Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)bor. Aramaic כוחלא (kuḥlā)bor. Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl) Andalusian Arabic اَلْكُحُول (al-kuḥūl)bor. Latin alcoholder. Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h1 Proto-Indo-European *déh1 Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin de-der. ▲ Ancient Greek ῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)der. German Aldehydbor. English aldehydeclip. English -al English furfural Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Latin -nus Latin -ānus Old French -ainder. Middle English -an English -an English furan English tetrahydrofuran From tetra- + hydro- + furan.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 四氫呋喃 /四氢呋喃 (sìqīngfūnán) — heterocyclic ether
  • German: Tetrahydrofuran — heterocyclic ether
  • Hungarian: tetrahidrofurán — heterocyclic ether