Acetates

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of synthetic fabric made from cellulose acetate that is often used in clothing and linings
2. A group of chemical compounds derived from acetic acid, utilized in various industrial applications
3. A salt or ester formed from acetic acid, commonly employed in food preservation or as a solvent in laboratories

Etymology: The word "acetates" is simply the plural of "acetate", so the story belongs to the singular. "Acetate" comes from Latin "acētum", meaning vinegar, a word built on "aceō", "to be sour." The "-ate" ending is the standard chemical suffix used for salts and esters of acids, so an acetate is a salt or ester of acetic acid, the sharp compound that gives vinegar its taste. The fabric sense is a later technical extension. Cellulose acetate, the material woven into this cloth, was made by treating cellulose with acetic acid and related compounds, and the name of the chemical was carried over to the textile that resulted. The connection is therefore indirect: a fabric named after a compound that itself takes its name from the sourness of vinegar.