a yellowish oily synthetic liquid formerly used medicinally as a sedative and hypnotic; tribromoacetaldehyde. Formula: Br3CCHO
Word origin
C19: from brom(ine) + al(cohol)
bromal in American English
(ˈbroumæl)
noun
Pharmacology
an oily, colorless liquid, CBr3CHO, used in medicine chiefly as an anodyne and hypnotic
Also called: tribromoacetaldehyde
Word origin
[1870–75; brom- + -al3]This word is first recorded in the period 1870–75. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Mafia, asymmetric, linkage, onshore, washout-al is a suffix indicating that a compound contains an aldehyde group. Other words thatuse the affix -al include: acetal, chloral, furfural, methylal, neral