lauric acid
- noun
- /ˈlɔːrɪk ˈæsɪd/
- Specialized
:
ácido láurico
- Many skincare products list lauric acid as an ingredient because it helps moisturize the skin.
Examples
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Coconut oil contains a high concentration of lauric acid, which is known for its antibacterial effects.
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The borax and washing soda will turn the stearic acid and lauric acid of Dove into sodium stearate and sodium laurate, respectively.
Blog text (18) -
Lauric acid is commonly used in the production of soaps and cosmetics due to its beneficial properties.
Synonyms
A fatty acid found in coconut and palm-kernel oil
Surface Forms
Morphology
The headword contains the transparent noun 'acid', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would infer this is a type of acid, but 'lauric' is a specialized chemical adjective that is unlikely to be known or predictable by learners. The compound form 'X acid' is cross-linguistically recognizable and supports partial understanding of category, but the precise sense (a specific saturated fatty acid found in coconut oil and palm kernel oil) is technical and not derivable from the parts alone.
Etymology
Lauric acid may come from the old word for the 'laurel' or bay tree, because chemists first found this acid in oils made from laurel berries and similar plants. That's why the name stuck, and today lauric acid means the fatty acid found in coconut and palm kernel oil used in soaps and cosmetics.
