: any of three poisonous colorless crystalline or liquid isomeric phenols C7H8O
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In bioassays, of the 17 fecal odorants that elicited GC-EAD responses from fly antennae, a blend of indole and one or more of the alcohols phenol, m-/p-cresol and 1-octen-3-ol proved as attractive to flies as canine feces.—Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2017 The constantly present base notes are the short-chain straight and branched acids, cresol and other phenolics, and skatole.—Harold McGee, Wired, 6 Nov. 2020
Word History
Etymology
International Scientific Vocabulary, irregular from creosote
: any of three poisonous colorless crystalline or liquid isomeric phenols C7H8O that are used as disinfectants, in making phenolic resins and plasticizers, and in organic synthesis see metacresol, orthocresol, paracresol
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