The story
From oxo- + propanoic, where "oxo-" indicates the presence of a carbonyl group and "propanoic" refers to the three-carbon chain.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
oxopropanoic
Today it means: Of or relating to a compound containing a ketone group attached to a three-carbon chain with a carboxylic acid functional group. Full definition →