itaconic acid

noun

One of the isomeric dicarboxylic acids produced by the distillation of citric acid, or as metabolites by microorganisms, CH₂=C(CO₂H)-CH₂CO₂H.

Meanings

nounitaconic acid (uncountable)
  1. uncountablechemistryOne of the isomeric dicarboxylic acids produced by the distillation of citric acid, or as metabolites by microorganisms, CH₂=C(CO₂H)-CH₂CO₂H.

Origin

  1. GermanItaconsäure
  2. Englishitaconic acid

Anagram of aconitic, modelled on German Itaconsäure as an anagram of Aconitsäure (“aconitic acid”), coined by Gustav Crasso (1840).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

itaconic acid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/itaconic%20acid

MLA

“itaconic acid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/itaconic%20acid. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “itaconic acid,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/itaconic%20acid.

Source: itaconic acid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.