capric acid

[ kap-rik ]

noun

1. a white crystalline organic acid with an unpleasant odor, C 10 H 20 O 2 , found as a glyceride in goat fat: the esters are used in perfumes and flavors.

capric acid

/ ˈkæprɪk /

noun

1. another name for decanoic acid

Word History and Origins

Origin of capric acid¹

1830–40; < Latin capr-, stem of caper goat ( caper ¹ ) + -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of capric acid¹

C19: from Latin caper goat, so named from its smell

Example Sentences

Capric, kap′rik, adj. in Capric acid, a fatty acid obtained from butter, &c., having a slightly goat-like smell.—ns.

From Project Gutenberg

Cap′rin, Cap′rine, a compound of capric acid and glycerine found in butter.

From Project Gutenberg

In the pure condition the fats are mostly odorless and tasteless; when they possess an odor, it arises mostly from the presence of small quantities of volatile fatty acids, as butyric acid, capric acid, &c.; which becomes free through the decomposition of their oxide of glycyl combinations.

From Project Gutenberg