But-

but- is a chemical prefix. It was extracted from "butyric acid". It serves as the number 4 when counting axial atoms in forming names of organic compounds. As an example, butane is an alkane with four carbons.

Organic chemistry affixes

Carbon-based	-ane (alkane) -ene (alkene) -ine (unsaturated hydrocarbon) -yne (alkyne) alk- (saturated hydrocarbon) ar- (aromatic)

Oxygen-based	-al (aldehyde) -oate (ester) -oic acid (carboxylic acid) -ol (alcohol) -one (ketone) -ose (sugar)

Nitrogen-based	-ine (alkaloid) aza- (N replaces C)

Sulfur-based	thio- (S replaces O)

Counting axial atoms	meth- (1) eth- (2) prop- (3) but- (4) (and the rest are ordinary Greek/Latin numbers)

Other	-ase (enzyme) -yl (radical)

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