What does “Markovnikov” mean?
Markovnikov
Oh, that's a chemistry one — nice!
So Markovnikov is actually a person's name — Vladimir Markovnikov, a Russian scientist from the 1800s. But when people say "Markovnikov" today, they usually mean his rule, which is a guideline for predicting what happens in certain chemical reactions.
The rule basically says: when you add something to a double bond between two atoms, the extra piece tends to go to the atom that already has more hydrogen attached to it. Think of it like the rich getting richer — the atom that already has more, gets more.
So in a chemistry class you might hear: "The product follows Markovnikov's rule" or "Which carbon gets the OH group? Use Markovnikov!"
It's shorthand for a really useful pattern in organic chemistry.
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