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pentanoic acid

/ ˌpɛntəˈnəʊɪk /

noun

  1. a colourless liquid carboxylic acid with an unpleasant odour, used in making perfumes, flavourings, and pharmaceuticals. Formula: CH 3 (CH 2 ) 3 COOH Also calledvaleric acid
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of pentanoic acid1

from pentane
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Example Sentences

Semova and Rawls chemically bonded fluorescent molecules to two common fatty acids, palmitic acid pentanoic acid, and mixed the glowing fats into the egg yolk of embryonic zebrafish.

A patient chemist might have concocted the magic potion: old perspiration reactivated by new; a hint of stagnant water; various industrial lubricants and detergents; cheap scents from a dispensing machine; a selection of hydrocarbons and carboxyls, and, dominating the other smells, pentanoic acid, from brakes and human warmth, which occurs naturally in valerian.

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