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Glite Dictionary
oxalic acid

oxalic acid

7.9
A poisonous white acid in some plants that people use to remove rust
  • noun
  • /oʊˈzælɪk ˈæsɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ácido oxálico
  • Etching was performed electrolytically using 10% oxalic acid.
  • contains oxalic acid

Examples

  • After mixing with water, oxalic acid became an effective bleaching agent for the stained fabric.

  • In his laboratory, the chemist carefully measured oxalic acid for his experiment with plant extracts.

  • The scientist used oxalic acid to clean the rust off the metal surface.

Synonyms

ethanedioic acid
vsoxalic acid
  • Specialized
9.5

Poisonous chemical from some plants used to clean rust and test chemicals in labs

is the common or familiar name used outside strict scientific naming

Surface Forms

oxalic acid singular
oxalic acids plural

Morphology

oxalic + acid

The compound is compositionally built from a chemical adjective + 'acid', so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a specific kind of acid. However 'oxalic' is a specialized, technical term and does not by itself convey the specific properties (toxicity, crystalline form, uses), so the full meaning is not predictable without prior exposure; the language-internal pattern 'X + acid' is common cross-linguistically, supporting partial inferability.

Etymology

Oxalic acid gets its name from the plant 'oxalis', the wood sorrel. People noticed the plant's sharp, 'sour' taste was caused by this chemical, so the words oxalic and acid were used to name the substance, and that's why the name points to a strong, sour compound found in some plants.