Esterifying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of forming an ester by the reaction of an alcohol with a carboxylic acid
2. The chemical transformation that results in the synthesis of esters through the condensation of an alcohol and an acid
3. A reaction in organic chemistry that yields an ester as a product when an alcohol combines with a carboxylic acid

Etymology: The name for these compounds is a blend of two unrelated words. "Ester" likely fuses German "Essig," meaning vinegar, with German "Äther," meaning ether. Vinegar goes back through Old High German to Latin "acētum," from "acēre," to be sour. Ether comes from Greek "aithēr," the bright upper air, related to "aithō," to burn. The verb is built in English from "ester" and the suffix "-ify." That suffix entered English through Middle English from Old French "-ifier," which descends from Latin "-ificāre," meaning to make or render into something. So to esterify something is to make it into an ester, a sour-named, ether-named compound.