Molecule

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Molecule \Mol"e*cule\, n. [Dim. fr. L. moles a mass: cf. F.
     mol['e]cule. See 3d {Mole}.]
     1. One of the very small invisible particles of which all
        ordinary matter is supposed to consist.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. (Physics) The smallest part of any substance which
        possesses the characteristic properties and qualities of
        that substance, and which can exist alone in a free state.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Chem.) A group of atoms so united and combined by
        chemical affinity that they form a complete, integrated
        whole, being the smallest portion of any particular
        compound that can exist in a free state; as, a molecule of
        water consists of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen.
        Cf. {Atom}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  molecule
       n 1: (physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an
            element or compound
       2: (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything [syn: {atom},
          {particle}, {corpuscle}, {mote}, {speck}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  138 Moby Thesaurus words for "molecule":
     Kekule formula, ace, acid, acidity, agent, air, alkali, alkalinity,
     alloisomer, anion, antacid, atom, atomic cluster, atomic particles,
     base, benzene ring, biochemical, bit, branched chain, brute matter,
     building block, cation, chain, chemical, chemical element,
     chromoisomer, closed chain, component, compound, compound radical,
     constituent, copolymer, cycle, dab, dimer, dole, dot, dram,
     dribble, driblet, dwarf, earth, electron, element,
     elementary particle, elementary unit, farthing, fire, fleck,
     flyspeck, fragment, fundamental particle, gobbet, grain, granule,
     groat, hair, handful, heavy chemicals, heterocycle, high polymer,
     homocycle, homopolymer, hydracid, hyle, hypostasis,
     inorganic chemical, ion, iota, isomer, jot, lattice, little,
     little bit, lota, macromolecule, material, material world,
     materiality, matter, meson, metamer, minim, minimum, minutiae,
     mite, modicum, monad, monomer, mote, natural world, nature,
     neutralizer, nonacid, nuclear particle, nutshell, organic chemical,
     ounce, oxyacid, particle, pebble, physical world, pinch, pittance,
     plenum, point, polymer, proton, pseudoisomer, quark, radical, ray,
     reagent, ring, scruple, side chain, simple radical, smidgen,
     smitch, space-lattice, speck, spoonful, spot, straight chain,
     stuff, substance, substratum, sulfacid, the four elements,
     thimbleful, tiny bit, tittle, trifling amount, trimer, trivia,
     unit of being, water, whit
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  MOLECULE, n.  The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter.  It is
  distinguished from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit
  of matter, by a closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate,
  indivisible unit of matter.  Three great scientific theories of the
  structure of the universe are the molecular, the corpuscular and the
  atomic.  A fourth affirms, with Haeckel, the condensation of
  precipitation of matter from ether -- whose existence is proved by the
  condensation of precipitation.  The present trend of scientific
  thought is toward the theory of ions.  The ion differs from the
  molecule, the corpuscle and the atom in that it is an ion.  A fifth
  theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any more
  about the matter than the others.