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Webster 1913 Edition

Noun.

[

Phen

yl +

antr

ene

(Chem.)

A complex hydrocarbon,

C14H10

, found in coal tar, and obtained as a white crystalline substance with a bluish fluorescence.

See also: phénanthrène

phenanthrene ‎(countable and uncountable, plural phenanthrenes)

(organic chemistry) A tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon obtained from coal tar; used in the manufacture of dyes, pharmaceuticals and explosives; it is isomeric with anthracene.

tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon from coal tar