phthalic acid

noun

phthal·​ic acid ˈtha-lik- How to pronounce phthalic acid (audio)
: any of three isomeric acids C8H6O4 obtained by oxidation of various benzene derivatives

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary, short for obsolete naphthalic acid, from naphthalene

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of phthalic acid was in 1857

Dictionary Entries Near phthalic acid

phthalazine

phthalic acid

phthalic anhydride

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Phthalic acid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phthalic%20acid. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Medical Definition

phthalic acid

noun
phthal·​ic acid ˌthal-ik- How to pronounce phthalic acid (audio)
: any of three isomeric acids C8H6O4 obtained by oxidation of various benzene derivatives

More from Merriam-Webster on phthalic acid

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about phthalic acid

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway

How to Use Accents and Diacritical Marks
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

9 Superb Owl Words

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups

10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports

Your Favorite Band is in the Dictionary

Etymologies for Every Day of the Week
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...