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palmitic acid

palmitic acid

1 5.5
A common fat in palm oil, meat, and dairy products
  • noun
  • /pælˈmɪtɪk ˈæsɪd/
  • Specialized
: ácido palmítico
  • In present studies, varied values for palmitic acid were observed in F3 populations and their parental lines.

Examples

  • In present studies, varied values for palmitic acid were observed in F3 populations and their parental lines.

  • Avoid fats rich in palmitic acid, such as coconut and palm oils.

  • There are several saturated fatty acids, including palmitic acid, myristic acid, lauric acid, and stearic acid.

Synonyms

hexadecanoic acid
vspalmitic acid
  • Specialized
7.0

A common saturated fat found in meat and milk

is the common name used in food and industry rather than the systematic name

Surface Forms

palmitic acid singular

Morphology

palmitic + acid

The form '[adjective] acid' is compositional so a learner who knows 'palmitic' as ‘relating to palm/palm oil’ and 'acid' would infer it names a particular kind of acid (an acid associated with palm/fats). However, 'palmitic' is a technical chemical term and the precise meaning 'a common saturated fatty acid found in palm oil, meat and dairy' is specialized and not fully predictable from everyday vocabulary, so comprehension is only partial without domain knowledge.

Etymology

Palmitic acid is named from palmitic, which comes from the palm tree, and acid, the chemical word, because it was first found in 'palm oil'. So the name reminds us that this fatty acid is common in 'palm oil', meat, and dairy.