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succinic

succinic

1 9.5
Relating to a chemical found in amber and in plants and animals
  • adjective
  • /səkˈsɪnɪk/
  • Specialized
: sucínico
  • The laboratory synthesized a new compound derived from succinic acid to enhance its properties.

Examples

  • Researchers studied the effects of succinic acid on the growth of certain bacteria.

  • Malic acid, citric acid, and succinic acid were the dominant organic acids and took up the largest proportion of the total organic acids (77.8%).

    Academic text (2014)
  • Malic acid, citric acid, and succinic acid were the dominant organic acids in the sample.

Compounds

succinic acid
  • Specialized
5.2

A natural chemical in living cells that helps make energy

Surface Forms

succinic positive

Morphology

succinic = succinate (opaque) = succin + ic

The suffix '-ic' is a productive adjective-forming element, but the root 'succin-' is a specialised combining form from Latin and not a familiar English word, so the meaning is not inferable for average learners.

Etymology

Succinic comes from the Latin word succinum, which means 'amber'. It was first discovered when people heated amber and made an acid, so succinic now describes substances that come from or are like amber.