phenyl

Borrowed from French phényle, derived from the root of Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō, “to shine”) plus ὕλη (húlē, “wood; material, substance”). Equivalent to phen- +‎ -yl.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfiː.naɪl/, /ˈfɛn.l̩/

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɛn.l̩/, /ˈfi.nl̩/
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /pʰɪˈnajl/
• Rhymes: -iːnaɪl, -ɛnəl, -iːnəl

phenyl (plural phenyls)

1. (organic chemistry) A univalent hydrocarbon radical, C₆H₅ (benzene minus one hydrogen atom), and the basis of an immense number of aromatic derivatives.

May be called by the chemical symbol Ph or Φ.

• pheno-
• phenol

• Colin McIntosh, editor (2013), “phenyl”, in Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 4th edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, reproduced in the Cambridge English Dictionary website, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.