Standard Lemma guide
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noun
Any of several poorly classified heteropolymers derived from simple hydrocarbons and ammonia formed by solar irradiation in the atmospheres of icy planets and moons.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: astronomy, chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Ancient Greek θολός (tholós, “muddy”) + -in. Coined by Carl Sagan and Bishun Khare in 1979. From the muddy coloration that this class of chemical compounds appear to have, when observed on the Saturnian moon Titan, and from Miller–Urey-style experiments.
Across languages
3 source translations are retained for this English entry.
