Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

carbonate

[noun kahr-buh-neyt, -nit; verb kahr-buh-neyt]
noun
  1. a salt or ester of carbonic acid.
Show More
verb (used with object), car·bon·at·ed, car·bon·at·ing.
  1. to form into a carbonate.
  2. to charge or impregnate with carbon dioxide: carbonated drinks.
  3. to make sprightly; enliven.
Show More

Origin of carbonate

1785–95; carbon(ic acid) + -ate2, later taken as -ate1
Related formscar·bon·a·tor, nounnon·car·bo·nate, nounnon·car·bo·nat·ed, adjectivesem·i·car·bon·ate, adjectiveun·car·bon·at·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for carbonate

Historical Examples

  • This "fur" is carbonate of lime, the same sort of substance as limestone and chalk.

    Coral and Coral Reefs

    Thomas H. Huxley

  • The most important are carbonate of soda, potash, and cyanide of potassium.

  • Boiler scale is composed of the carbonate or the sulphate of lime.

  • Composed of heavy spar and the carbonate in equal proportions.

  • The most important are the sulphide, carbonate, and hydroxide.

British Dictionary definitions for carbonate

carbonate

noun (ˈkɑːbəˌneɪt, -nɪt)
  1. a salt or ester of carbonic acid. Carbonate salts contain the divalent ion CO 3 2–
Show More
verb (ˈkɑːbəˌneɪt)
  1. to form or turn into a carbonate
  2. (tr) to treat with carbon dioxide or carbonic acid, as in the manufacture of soft drinks
Show More

Word Origin

C18: from French, from carbone carbon
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for carbonate

n.

1794, from French carbonate "salt of carbonic acid" (Lavoisier), from Modern Latin carbonatem "a carbonated (substance)," from Latin carbo (see carbon).

Show More

v.

1805, "to form into a carbonate," from carbonate (n.) by influence of French carbonater "transform into a carbonate." Meaning "to impregnate with carbonic acid gas (i.e. carbon dioxide)" is from 1850s. Related: Carbonated; carbonating.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
carbonate in Medicine

carbonate

(kär′bə-nāt′)
n.
  1. A salt or ester of carbonic acid.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
carbonate in Science

carbonate

[kär′bə-nāt′]
Noun
  1. A salt or ester of carbonic acid, containing the group CO3. The reaction of carbonic acid with a metal results in a salt (such as sodium carbonate), and the reaction of carbonic acid with an organic compound results in an ester (such as diethyl carbonate).
  2. Any other compound containing the group CO3. Carbonates include minerals such as calcite and aragonite.
  3. Sediment or a sedimentary rock formed by the precipitation of organic or inorganic carbon from an aqueous solution of carbonates of calcium, magnesium, or iron. Limestone is a carbonate rock.
Show More
Verb
  1. To add carbon dioxide to a substance, such as a beverage.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.