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glutamate

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Etymology and origin of the English word glutamate

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1876 Journal of the Chemical Society More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Latin glūten

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈɡluː.tə.meɪt/[1]
  • US: /ˈɡlu.tə.meɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English glutamic + -ate,[2][3][4][5][6] from the name of glutamic acid.[5][4][7] The adjective was formed in 1871 from gluten (from Latin glūten (“glue”)) and amic, after German Glutaminsäure, the name that the German chemist H. Ritthausen gave the acid in 1866;[2][5] the Shorter Oxford derives it from gluten, amine and -ic.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A salt of glutamic acid: 1876, in the Journal of the Chemical Society.[2][4][5] Dictionary.com dates it to 1875–80.[8]

Semantic evolution

Gluten, at first any sticky substance, was used from 1803 of the nitrogen-rich part of wheat flour, and the amino acid found in it gave its name to glutamic acid and its salt.[5] The monosodium salt, monosodium glutamate (from 1929), is widely used to bring out the flavour of food,[4][2] so that glutamate alone often means this additive.[9][4] In biochemistry the word also names the ion of glutamic acid, which takes part in nitrogen metabolism[3] and acts as a neurotransmitter that excites cells of the central nervous system.[7]

Timeline

  • 1876 – a salt or ester of glutamic acid.[2][4][5]
  • 1929 – monosodium glutamate.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A salt or ester of glutamic acid.[4][2][6][9]
  2. Monosodium glutamate, used as a flavour enhancer in food.[4][9][3]
  3. The ion of glutamic acid, which acts in the body as an excitatory neurotransmitter.[7][3]

Word family

  • monosodium glutamate
  • sodium glutamate

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ a b c Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Glutamate.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/glutamate. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·