pyroxylin

noun

py·​rox·​y·​lin pī-ˈräk-sə-lən 

pə-

1

: a flammable mixture of nitrocelluloses used especially in making plastics and water-repellent coatings (such as lacquers)

2

: a pyroxylin product

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary pyr- + Greek xylon wood

First Known Use

circa 1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

pyroxylin

noun

py·​rox·​y·​lin pī-ˈräk-sə-lən, pə- 

: a flammable mixture of cellulose nitrates usually with less than 12.5 percent nitrogen that is less explosive than guncotton, soluble in a mixture of ether and alcohol or other organic solvents, and used especially in making plastics and coatings (as lacquers) see collodion