Definition

1. Noun:
   • A synthetic chemical compound used as a dye, stain, and antiseptic: Crystal violet is a purple-colored organic salt, appearing as green crystals that dissolve to a violet solution in water. It is primarily used in laboratories as a biological stain and in medicine for its antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The biologist used crystal violet to stain the bacterial cells for observation under the microscope.
  • Crystal violet is an effective treatment for minor skin infections and burns.

Advanced Usage

• "Crystal violet stain": A specific laboratory technique, most famously used in the Gram stain procedure to classify bacteria.
  • The first step in the Gram stain is applying the crystal violet stain to the bacterial smear.

Variants and Related Words

• Gentian violet: An older, often synonymous name for crystal violet, especially in medical contexts.

  • The doctor prescribed gentian violet for the fungal infection.

• Methyl violet: A related group of dyes; crystal violet is a specific member of this group.

  • Methyl violet dyes have similar staining properties.

Synonyms

• Basic violet 3: Its Colour Index name.
• Hexamethyl pararosaniline chloride: A more precise chemical name.

Related Phrases

• Crystal violet assay: A laboratory test used to measure cell proliferation or biomass.
  • The researcher performed a crystal violet assay to quantify the number of adherent cells.

Related Idioms

(This term is a technical/scientific noun and is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions.)

Noun

1. a green crystal (violet in water) used as a dye or stain or bactericide or fungicide or anthelmintic or burn treatment