Oxylate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To combine or treat with oxalic acid or oxalate ions ; to convert a substance into an oxalate compound
2. To react chemically with oxalic acid or oxalates ; to transform a material by introducing oxalate groups
3. To chemically modify by forming oxalates ; to initiate a process that results in the incorporation of oxalic acid derivatives

Etymology: Oxalic acid is named after Oxalis, the genus of wood sorrel, whose leaves are sharply sour. That name comes from the Greek "oxys", meaning sharp or sour, which is also the first half of "oxymoron", a combination of "oxys" with "moros", meaning foolish. "Oxylate" is most likely a chemical formation built on "oxalate", the name for salts and esters of oxalic acid, with the familiar chemical ending "-ate" attached to the acid's root. Its verb sense, to treat a material with oxalate groups, follows from that chemistry.