citrate

Etymology

It is borrowed from French citrate,^[2][3] a term introduced by the chemist Guyton de Morveau in his 1782 memoir on chemical names, from citrique (“citric”) and the suffix -ate.^[2] Other dictionaries analyse it as formed from citric and the chemical suffix -ate,^[4][5][6][7] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged assigns it to the International Scientific Vocabulary.^[8] The stem goes back to Latin citrus (“citron tree”).^[2][3] The verb, from 1903, is formed in English from the same stem with the verb-forming use of the suffix.^[2] The OED compares the earlier adjective citrated, originally from Medieval Latin citratus (“treated with the juice of lemons”), recorded from 1549.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A salt or ester of citric acid: 1788, in W. Nicholson's translation of the Elements of chemistry by Fourcroy.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also dates it to 1788,^[8] while Etymonline and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate give 1794.^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to the systematic chemical names of the 1780s, made from the name of an acid and a suffix; the French adjective citrique itself is attributed to Guyton de Morveau (1782).^[2] The OED now also uses it for the anion of citric acid.^[2] The verb arose in early 20th-century medicine, for treating blood with a citrate, usually sodium citrate, to keep it from clotting, and is used chiefly in the past participle citrated.^[2][4][8]

Timeline

• 1788 – a salt or ester of citric acid.^[2][8] Etymonline dates the word to 1794.^[3]
• 1903 – verb, to treat blood or another fluid with a citrate.^[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A salt or ester of citric acid, or its anion; some citrates are used in drinks and medicines.^[7][8][2]

Verb

1. To treat blood or another fluid with a citrate, especially sodium citrate, to prevent it from coagulating.^[8][2][4]

Word family

• ferric ammonium citrate
• sodium citrate

Related words

• citric
• citrus
• citron

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster