ethyl alcohol n. (Chem.) The organic compound C2H5.OH, which is the intoxicating agent in beer, wine, and other fermented and distilled liquors; it is used pure or denatured as a solvent or in medicines and colognes and cleaning solutions and rocket fuel.
... belongs to the family of alcohols, hence hospitals using glycerine tinctures are not, strictly speaking, non-alcoholic. To this the answer is, that while glycerine certainly is classed in the family of alcohols, it is of a very different nature from ethyl alcohol, which is used for beverage purposes. Ethyl alcohol, the alcohol in all intoxicating beverages in common use, and the alcohol generally used in medicine, creates a fatal craving for itself, and is injurious ... — Alcohol: A Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine, How and Why - What Medical Writers Say • Martha M. Allen Read full book for free!