Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
The compound with the formula CH3CH2COOH, a naturally occurring carboxylic acid with a pungent odor.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
a liquid fatty acid found in milk and sweat and in fuel distillates
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: propanoic acid
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: carboxylic acid
History
From French acide propionique, coined by chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas, from Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos) ("first") and πίων (píōn) ("fat"), because it was the smallest carboxylic acid that exhibited the properties of the other fatty acids, such as producing an oily layer when salted out of water and having a soapy potassium salt.
Across languages
3 source translations are retained for this English entry.
