arachidic acid

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C 20 H 40 O 2 , obtained from peanut oil: used chiefly in the manufacture of lubricants, plastics, and waxes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of arachidic acid¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Intervening members of this series, such as caprylic acid, C7H15·COOH, and lauric acid, C11H23·COOH, are also found in smaller quantities in cocoanut and palm nut oils, in butter fat, and in spermaceti; while higher members of the series, as arachidic acid, C19H39·COOH, and lignoceric acid, C23H47·COOH, are found in peanut oil; and cerotic acid, C25H51·COOH, and melissic acid, C29H59·COOH, in beeswax and carnauba wax.

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