What is "cetyl alcohol"

Cetylic \Ce*tyl"ic\, a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, spermaceti.

Cetylic alcohol (Chem.), a white, waxy, crystalline solid, obtained from spermaceti, and regarded as homologous with ordinary, or ethyl, alcohol; ethal; -- called also cetyl alcohol.

ethal \eth"al\, n. [Ether + alcohol: cf. F. ['e]thal.] (Chem.) A white waxy solid, C16H33.OH; -- called also cetyl alcohol and cetylic alcohol. See Cetylic alcohol, under Cetylic.

n. (context organic compound English) The waxy aliphatic primary alcohol 1-hexadecanol, used in cosmetics etc.

Cetyl alcohol , also known as hexadecan-1-ol and palmityl alcohol, is a fatty alcohol with the formula CH(CH)OH. At room temperature, cetyl alcohol takes the form of a waxy white solid or flakes. The name cetyl derives from the whale oil from which it was first isolated.