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Glite Dictionary
🧪 Related to lauric acid 🧼 A chemical salt
laurate

laurate

9.1
Containing or made from lauric acid, a common fatty acid used in soaps
  • adjective
  • /ˈlɔːrɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : laurato
  • The soap contains a laurate compound that helps cleanse the skin.

Examples

  • The laboratory tested the laurate solution for its effectiveness against bacteria.

  • The laboratory tested the laurate solution for its effectiveness against bacteria.

  • Some shampoos use sodium laurate for its foaming properties.

  • The cream contains laurate for its moisturizing properties.

  • Is this soap made with laurate?

  • The soap contains a laurate compound that helps cleanse the skin.

  • Some shampoos use sodium laurate for its foaming properties.

Surface Forms

laurate positive

Morphology

laurate = lauric (opaque) = laur + ate

The derivation uses a specialized chemical formation (−ate indicating a salt/ester of lauric acid), which is unlikely to be transparent to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Laurate comes from the root laur- meaning 'laurel' because lauric acid was named after the bay laurel where it was found, and the ending -ate as in sulfate and nitrate means 'a salt or related chemical'. So laurate as an adjective means 'containing or coming from lauric acid', which is why it often appears in soaps and shampoos.