different between hydroxyl vs polyol

English

From a blend of hydrogen +? oxygen +? -yl

hydroxyl (plural hydroxyls)

(chemistry) A univalent radical or functional group (–OH) in organic chemistry; present in alcohols, phenols, carboxylic acids and certain other classes of compounds.

From poly- +? -ol.

polyol (plural polyols)

(organic chemistry) Any organic compound having three or more hydroxyl functional groups; a polyhydric alcohol.
- 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA 2003, p. 258:
  a team at the Ames Research Center in California announced that the Murchison rock also contained complex strings of sugars called polyols, which had not been found off the Earth before.

Send