Hydrates are compounds formed by the union of
water with some other substance, generally forming a
neutral body, as certain crystallized salts.
These substances do not contain water as such, but have their constituents (hydrogen, oxygen, hydroxyl)
so arranged that water may be eliminated. Hence, a hydrates are derivatives of, or compounds with, hydroxyl.
Examples include: hydroxide, ethyl hydrate (common alcohol), clathrate hydrate, calcium hydrate[?], or slaked lime[?].
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License