acid etymology

Etymology

The word "acid" comes from the Latin word "acidus", meaning "sour". This word is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*ak-", meaning "sharp" or "to be sharp".

Meaning

An acid is a chemical substance that has a sour taste, reacts with bases to form salts and water, and turns blue litmus paper red. Acids are typically produced when a substance reacts with hydrogen ions (H+).

Origin

The earliest known use of the word "acid" in English was in the 14th century. The word was originally used to describe substances that had a sour taste, such as vinegar or lemon juice. In the 17th century, chemists began to use the term "acid" to refer to substances that reacted with bases to form salts and water.

The modern definition of acid, which includes the requirement that it turns blue litmus paper red, was developed in the 18th century. This definition was based on the work of the Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, who developed a system of classifying chemical substances based on their properties.

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