dieldrin

noun diel·drin \ˈdēl-drən\

Definition of DIELDRIN

: a white crystalline persistent toxic chlorinated compound C₁₂H₈Cl₆O used especially formerly as an insecticide

Origin of DIELDRIN

Diels-Alder reaction (an addition reaction forming a 6-membered ring), after Otto Diels & Kurt Alder

First Known Use: circa 1949

Medical Dictionary

dieldrin

noun diel·drin \ˈdē(ə)l-drən\

Medical Definition of DIELDRIN

: a white crystalline persistent chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide C₁₂H₈Cl₆O

Biographical Note for DIELDRIN

Diels \ˈdē(ə)ls\ , Otto Paul Hermann (1876–1954), and Al·der \ˈȯl-dər\ , Kurt (1902–1958), German chemists. Diels and Alder made an important contribution to organic chemistry with their development of a method for synthesizing a ring of six carbon atoms. This is now known as the Diels-Alder reaction, from which aldrin and dieldrin are derived. In 1928 Diels and Alder published their first paper on the subject. The insecticides aldrin and dieldrin were first prepared by the method which is now widely used in the synthesis of organic compounds. Diels and Alder were awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1950.