acetate

plural acetates

1. chemistryAny ester or salt of acetic acid.

   […] to pad a piece in diluted acetate of alumine to obtain a pale lemon ground […]

   1819, Abraham Rees, The Cyclopædia

   1 more example

   The goods should be handled for about twenty minutes in a solution of sugar (acetate) of lead, pressed out of that and then passed through a solution of this chrome, then aired, passed through the lead and washed and dried.

   1847, editorial staff, “To Dye Yellow Color”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 72

   Synonyms: ethanoate

2. Cellulose acetate.

   Performers use acetate because eyelash glue is not available. They create eyelashes out of horse hair or cut from carbon paper. Their nails are glued on with a shoe adhesive.

   2007 July 16, Leslie Feinberg, “How La Güinera made room for more gender”, in Workers World

3. A transparent sheet used for overlays, whether of cellulose acetate or (loosely) any macroscopically similar plastic.

   Near-synonym: gel

   Synonyms: gel

4. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of acetate disc (A disc of aluminium covered in a wax used to make demonstration copies of a phonograph record)

   1 more example

   Acetates are a relic of the days before cassettes, DAT, and recordable CDs came into widespread use in recording studios. Manufactured from aluminum, and coated in a thin sheet of vinyl, they were produced to allow the concerned parties to hear how a particular version of a recording would sound outside the studio, on their home hi-fi, for example.

   2002, Dave Thompson, The Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting, Hal Leonard Corporation, Acetates—The Rock Star's Rough Draft