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Glite Dictionary
bitartrate

bitartrate

9.9
A salt made from tartaric acid that still has one hydrogen atom
  • noun
  • /ˈbɪtɑːrˌtreɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : bitartrato
  • In winemaking, bitartrate plays an important role in stabilizing the wine's flavor and appearance.

Examples

  • Bitartrate is commonly used in food and beverage applications as an acid to help with stability.

  • Bitartrate.

    Welcome to Collinwood (2002)

  • The chemist explained that bitartrate is an acid salt derived from tartaric acid, making it useful in various pharmaceutical formulations.

Compounds

potassium bitartrate
  • Specialized
5.2

A white powder that helps egg whites keep their shape and improves texture of baked goods

Surface Forms

bitartrate singular
bitartrates plural

Morphology

bitartrate = tartrate (opaque) = bi + tartrate

The term is a technical chemical formation (prefix 'bi-' used in nomenclature) and 'tartrate' is a specialized chemistry term, so the meaning is not recoverable for an average learner from general knowledge of 'bi-' + 'tartrate'.

Etymology

Bitartrate comes from the prefix bi- and tartrate. In older chemistry bi- was used to mean 'one hydrogen' and tartrate comes from 'tartar', the salt that forms in wine and that you know as cream of tartar, so bitartrate is the 'tartar' salt with one hydrogen, which is why it is an acid salt.