elaidic acid

1 8.4

A type of trans fat found in hardened vegetable oils and processed foods

noun
/ɪˈleɪdɪk ˈæsɪd/

Specialized

: ácido elaídico

Many processed foods contain elaidic acid due to the use of partially hydrogenated oils.

Examples

Researchers study the health effects of elaidic acid on cardiovascular disease.
Margarine is a common source of elaidic acid in modern diets.
Many processed foods contain elaidic acid.
Is elaidic acid harmful to health?
Many processed foods contain elaidic acid due to the use of partially hydrogenated oils.
Margarine is a common source of elaidic acid in modern diets.
Researchers study the health effects of elaidic acid on cardiovascular disease.

Surface Forms

elaidic acid singular

elaidic acids plural

Morphology

elaidic + acid

This is a technical chemical name: 'elaidic' is a specialized lexical item (not a transparent English root or common adjective) and its meaning ('a trans monounsaturated fatty acid') is not recoverable from the common word 'acid' alone. A B1 learner who only knows the constituent 'acid' would not be able to infer the specific chemical properties or the idiomatic name element 'elaidic', so the phrase is not compositionally transparent.

Etymology

Elaidic acid may come from an old Greek word for oil or 'olive', because it is a fat closely related to oleic acid. Today elaidic acid means a 'trans' fat that forms when oils are treated in factories, so the name helps you remember it is a kind of oily fat found in margarine and other processed foods.