propionique

Forms

propionique (plural propioniques)^[1]

Etymology

It was coined in 1847 in the name acide propionique by the French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas, Faustino Malaguti and Félix Leblanc.^[1][2][3] It is a compound from Ancient Greek προ- (pro-) + πίων (píōn, “fat”) with the suffix -ique, because this acid was taken to be the first in the series of fatty acids.^[2][3] The TLFi reads the first element as pro- in the sense “first, primitive”;^[2][1] Wiktionary allows either πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) or the prefix προ- (pro-).^[2][1]

The element prop- was later taken from the adjective to name other organic compounds, such as propane, propène and propergol.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1847 in the Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences, where the authors explain that they chose acide propionique because the name “recalls its place in the series of fatty acids: it is the first of them”.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1847 – Acide propionique is named in the Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences.^[2][3]
• 1873 – Littré defines it as an acid formed in the decomposition of many plant substances.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (organic chemistry, dated) propionic: acide propionique, the fatty acid CH₃–CH₂–COOH, the next homologue above acetic acid, and aldéhyde propionique.^[2][1]

Word family

• propane
• propène
• propergol

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette