mercapto-

Meanings

1. an organosulfur compound that contains a carbon-bonded sulfhydryl or sulphydryl

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin mercurium Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Old Latin kapiō Latin capiō Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin -tō Latin captō Latin captāns Latin mercurium captānsder. English mercapto- The term mercaptan was introduced in 1832 by the Danish chemist William Christopher Zeise and is derived from the Latin mercurium captāns (capturing mercury) because the thiolate group bonds very strongly with mercury compounds.