sorbic acid
[sawr-bik]
- a white, crystalline compound, C6H8O2, slightly soluble in water, soluble in many organic solvents: used as a preservative in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food.
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Origin of sorbic acid
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
sorbic acid
- a white crystalline unsaturated carboxylic acid found in berries of the mountain ash and used to inhibit the growth of moulds and as an additive for certain synthetic coatings, as of cheese (E200); 2,4-hexadienoic acid. It exists as cis- and trans- isomers, the latter being the one usually obtained. Formula: CH 3 CH:CHCH:CHCOOH
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Word Origin
C19: from sorb (the tree), from its discovery in the berries of the mountain ash
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
sorbic acid
(sôr′bĭk)- A white crystalline solid found in the berries of the mountain ash and also synthesized, used as a fungicide.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
sorbic acid
[sôr′bĭk]
- A white crystalline solid that is found in the berries of the rowan or prepared synthetically and is used as a food preservative and a fungicide. Chemical formula: C6H8O2.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.