EDTA

abbreviation for

, Chemistry, Pharmacology.

1. ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid: a colorless compound, C 10 H 16 N 2 O 8 , capable of chelating a variety of divalent metal cations: as a salt used as an anticoagulant, antioxidant, blood cholesterol reducer, food preservative; as a calcium-disodium salt used in the treatment of lead and other heavy-metal poisonings.

EDTA

noun

1. ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid; a colourless crystalline slightly soluble organic compound used in inorganic chemistry and biochemistry. It is a powerful chelating agent used to stabilize bleach in detergents. Formula: [(HOOCCH 2 ) 2 NCH 2 ] 2

Word History and Origins

Origin of EDTA¹

First recorded in 1950–55