racemic

[ rey-see-mik, -sem-ik, ruh- ]

adjectiveChemistry.
  1. noting or pertaining to any of various organic compounds in which racemism occurs.

Origin of racemic

1
1830–40; <French racémique<Latin racēm(us) raceme + French -ique-ic

Words Nearby racemic

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How to use racemic in a sentence

  • In the one case, therefore, the racemic compound has a higher, in the other a lower melting point than the active forms.

British Dictionary definitions for racemic

racemic

/ (rəˈsiːmɪk, -ˈsɛm-) /


adjective
  1. chem of, concerned with, or being a mixture of equal amounts of enantiomers and consequently having no optical activity

Origin of racemic

1
C19: from raceme (as in racemic acid) + -ic

Derived forms of racemic

  • racemism (ˈræsɪˌmɪzəm, rəˈsiːmɪzəm), noun

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

Scientific definitions for racemic

racemic

[ rə-sēmĭk ]


  1. Relating to a chemical compound that contains equal quantities of the dextrorotatory and levorotatory forms of the compound and therefore does not rotate the plane of incident polarized light.

  2. Relating to or consisting of racemes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.