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my·ris·tic acid

(mə-rĭstĭk, mī-)

A fatty acid, C₁₄H₂₈O₂, occurring in animal and vegetable fats and used in the manufacture of cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, and flavorings.

[New Latin Myristica, genus of the nutmeg tree (myristic acid having been first isolated from oil of nutmeg), from Medieval Latin nux myristica, nutmeg (literally, "fragrant nut"), partial translation of Byzantine Greek karuon muristikon : karuon, nut + muristikon, neuter of muristikos, fragrant (from murizein, to anoint, perfume, from muron, perfumed oil, unguent, perhaps akin to Old English smerian, to smear, or perhaps a loanword from an unknown Near Eastern source).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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