Latvian

A word coined in the 19th century from skāb(t) ‎(“to go sour”) +‎ -e, first attested in dictionaries of that time. In the 1850s, K. Valdemārs tried to use the term skābums in the sense of “acid,” but without success: skābe became the standard term for this sense.^[1]

Noun

skābe f (5th declension)

1. (chemistry) acid (a sour substance that reacts with a base to produce a salt)

   stipra, vāja skābe‎ ― strong, weak acid

   organiskā skābe‎ ― organic acid

   skābju savienojumi‎ ― acid compounds

   skābekli saturošas skābes‎ ― oxygen-containing acids

Declension

Derived terms

• aminoskābe
• taukskābe

Related terms

• skābeklis
• skābs, skābums
• skābt, skābēt

References

1. ↑ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “skābt”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7