Aldoses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of simple sugar containing an aldehyde group that is soluble in water, typically found in carbohydrates
2. A category of monosaccharides characterized by the presence of an aldehyde functional group, contributing to their role in energy metabolism
3. Simple sugars classified as aldehydes, which play crucial roles in biological processes and can serve as energy sources for living organisms

Etymology: Aldoses are named for the chemical group they carry. The "ald" comes from "aldehyde," itself a shortening of the Latin phrase "alcohol dehydrogenatum," meaning alcohol that has lost hydrogen. An aldehyde is what results when an alcohol is oxidized in that way, and an aldose is a sugar whose carbon chain ends in one. The ending "-ose" is a different story. It was taken from "glucose," the sugar named after the Greek "glykys," meaning "sweet." Chemists then attached the ending to other sugar names, so it now marks any carbohydrate of this kind. Glucose itself is an aldose, which is why the two names are so closely tied together in chemistry textbooks.

Synonyms: monosaccharides, sugars, carbohydrates, hexoses, pentoses