The numerical multiplier (or multiplying affix) in

IUPAC nomenclature A chemical nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematic names for chemical compounds. The nomenclature used most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The ...

indicates how many particular

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

s or

functional group In organic chemistry, a functional group is a substituent or moiety in a molecule that causes the molecule's characteristic chemical reactions. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reactions regardless of the rest ...

s are attached at a particular point in a

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

. The

affix In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They ar ...

es are derived from both

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Compound affixes

The prefixes are given from the least significant decimal digit up: units, then tens, then hundreds, then thousands. For example: :548 → octa- (8) + tetraconta- (40) + pentacta- (500) = ''octatetracontapentacta-'' :9267 → hepta- (7) + hexaconta- (60) + dicta- (200) + nonalia- (9000) = ''heptahexacontadictanonalia-''

The numeral one

While the use of the affix ''mono-'' is rarely necessary in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...

, it is often essential in

inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disci ...

to avoid ambiguity: carbon oxide could refer to either ''

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

'' or ''

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

''. In forming compound affixes, the numeral one is represented by the term ''hen-'' except when it forms part of the number eleven (''undeca-''): hence :241 → hen- (1) + tetraconta- (40) + dicta- (200) = ''hentetracontadicta-'' :411 → undeca- (11) + tetracta- (400) = ''undecatetracta-''

The numeral two

In compound affixes, the numeral two is represented by ''do-'' except when it forms part of the numbers 20 (''icosa-''), 200 (''dicta-'') or 2000 (''dilia-'').

Icosa- ''v.'' eicosa-

IUPAC The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...

prefers the spelling icosa- for the affix corresponding to the number twenty on the grounds of

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

. However both the

Chemical Abstracts Service CAS (formerly Chemical Abstracts Service) is a division of the American Chemical Society. It is a source of chemical information. CAS is located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Print periodicals ''Chemical Abstracts'' is a periodical index tha ...

and the

Beilstein database The Beilstein database is the largest database in the field of organic chemistry, in which compounds are uniquely identified by their Beilstein Registry Number. The database covers the scientific literature from 1771 to the present and contains ex ...

use the alternative spelling ''eicosa-''.

Other numerical prefix types

There are two more types of numerical prefixes in IUPAC organic chemistry nomenclature.

IUPAC Blue Book ''Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry'', commonly referred to by chemists as the ''Blue Book'', is a collection of recommendations on organic chemical nomenclature published at irregular intervals by the International Union of Pure and Applied ...

, 2013

Numerical terms for compound or complex features

Numerical prefixes for multiplication of compound or complex (as in ''complicated'') features are created by adding ''kis'' to the basic numerical prefix, with the exception of numbers 2 and 3, which are bis- and tris-, respectively. An example is the IUPAC name for

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

Multiplicative prefixes for naming assemblies of identical units

Examples are

biphenyl Biphenyl (also known as diphenyl, phenylbenzene, 1,1′-biphenyl, lemonene or BP) is an organic compound that forms colorless crystals. Particularly in older literature, compounds containing the functional group consisting of biphenyl less one ...

terphenyl Terphenyls are a group of closely related aromatic hydrocarbons. Also known as diphenylbenzenes or triphenyls, they consist of a central benzene ring substituted with two phenyl groups. There are three substitution patterns: ''ortho''-terphenyl ...

Etymology

"mono-" is from

''monos'' = "alone". "un" = 1 and "nona-" = 9 are from

. The others are derived from Greek numbers. The forms 100 and upwards are not correct Greek. In

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

, ''hekaton'' = 100, ''diakosioi'' = 200, ''triakosioi'' = 300, etc. The numbers 200-900 would be confused easily with 22 to 29 if they were used in chemistry. ''khīlioi'' = 1000, ''diskhīlioi'' = 2000, ''triskhīlioi'' = 3000, etc., and 13 to 19 are ''treiskaideka'' etc. with the Greek for "and"inserted (as in

triskaidekaphobia Triskaidekaphobia ( , ; ) is fear or avoidance of the number . It is also a reason for the fear of Friday the 13th, called ''paraskevidekatriaphobia'' () or ''friggatriskaidekaphobia'' (). The term was used as early as in 1910 by Isador Coria ...

Notes and references

* {{Reflist, 2 Chemical nomenclature