Hec"de*cane (?), n. [Gr. &?; six + &?; ten.] (Chem.) A white, semisolid, spermaceti-like hydrocarbon, C₁₆H₃₄, of the paraffin series, found dissolved as an important ingredient of kerosene, and so called because each molecule has sixteen atoms of carbon; -- called also hexadecane.