Etymology

uracil

U1R1A1C3I1L1

Today it means: One of the bases of RNA, pairing with adenine. Full definition →

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The story

From uro- + ac(etic) + -ile. Coined in 1885 by the German chemist Robert Behrend, who was attempting to synthesize derivatives of uric acid.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.