ester
pronunciation
How to pronounce ester in British English:
UK [ˈestə(r)]
How to pronounce ester in American English:
US [ ˈestər]
-
- Noun:
- formed by reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water
Word Origin
- ester (n.)
- compound formed by an acid joined to an alcohol, 1852, coined in German in 1848 by German chemist Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853), professor at Heidelberg. The name is "apparently a pure invention" [Flood], perhaps a contraction of or abstraction from Essigäther, the German name for ethyl acetate, from Essig "vinegar" + Äther "ether" (see ether). Essig is from Old High German ezzih, from a metathesis of Latin acetum (see vinegar).
Example
- 1. His team recently designed a simple ester capable of removing sulphur from diesel .
- 2. Ester left school at 14 to work beside her mother as a maid and now has two young kids .
- 3. The most significant is the cholesterol ester transfer protein gene or cetp which in one unusual form correlates with slower memory decline lower risk for dementia and strongly increased protection against heart disease .
- 4. The research reinforces the ideas of ester boserup , an economist who argued in the 1970s that cultural norms about the economic roles of the sexes can be traced back to traditional farming practices .