Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of a class of compounds derived from an oxyacid, usually resulting from the reaction of an oxyacid and an alcohol with the elimination of water.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as compound ether (which see, under ether).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) An ethereal salt, or compound ether, consisting of an organic radical united with the residue of any oxygen acid, organic or inorganic; thus the natural fats are esters of glycerin and the fatty acids, oleic, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun organic chemistry A compound most often formed by the condensation of an alcohol and an acid, with elimination of water. It contains the functional group carbon-oxygen double bond joined via carbon to another oxygen atom.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun formed by reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[German, short for Essigäther : Essig, vinegar (from Middle High German ezzich, from Old High German ezzīh, from Latin acētum; see ak- in Indo-European roots) + Äther, ether (from Latin aethēr; see ether).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From German Essig-Äther "acetic acid ethyl ester".

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