Alginate
/ˈæl.dʒɪ.neɪt/noun
A salt or ester of alginic acid, used in foods, textiles, and medical materials.
Did you know?Alginate was named from alginic acid, coined in the 19th century from Latinized scientific forms for the seaweed source, and it became a major industrial material because brown algae naturally lock up this sticky polysaccharide.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Latin
Latin
alga
“seaweed, sea plant”
18th-19th Century
Scientific Latin
alga + -in/-ic
“scientific naming based on seaweed-derived substances”
1851
English
algin
“a substance extracted from brown seaweed”
1880s
English
alginic acid
“acid obtained from brown algae”
Early 20th Century
English
alginate
“a salt or ester of alginic acid”