formic acid

English

Noun

formic acid (uncountable)

1. (organic chemistry) The simplest carboxylic acid, HCOOH, a colourless, corrosive liquid with a sharp odour systematically known as methanoic acid; it is present in the stings of ants, bees and nettles, and is prepared industrially by the oxidation of methanol or formaldehyde; it has some industrial uses, and its esters, the formates are used in perfumes.
   • 1941, Ogden Nash, “The Ant”, in The Face is Familiar: The Selected Verse of Ogden Nash, reprint edition, Garden City, N.Y.: Garden City Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 224:

     The ant has made himself illustrious / Through constant industry industrious. / So what? / Would you be calm and placid / If you were full of formic acid?

Synonyms

• E236 (when used as a food preservative)
• methanoic acid (Systematic name)

Translations

methanoic acid

• Arabic: حمض الفورميك
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 甲酸 (gaap³ syun¹), 蟻酸／蚁酸 (ngai⁵ syun¹)

  Mandarin: 甲酸 (zh) (jiǎsuān), 蟻酸／蚁酸 (zh) (yǐsuān)

• Czech: kyselina mravenčí f
• Danish: methansyre, myresyre (da)
• Dutch: mierenzuur (nl) n, methaanzuur n
• Faroese: meyrusýra f
• Finnish: muurahaishappo (fi), metaanihappo (fi)
• French: acide formique (fr) m
• Georgian: ჭიანჭველამჟავა (č̣ianč̣velamžava)
• German: Ameisensäure (de) f
• Greek: μυρμηκικό οξύ m (myrmikikó oxý)
• Gujarati: પિપીલિકામ્લ (pipīlikāmla)
• Hungarian: hangyasav (hu)
• Icelandic: maurasýra f
• Irish: aigéad formach m
• Japanese: 蟻酸 (ja) (ぎさん, gisan)
• Latvian: skudrskābe (lv) f
• Macedonian: мравја киселина f (mravja kiselina)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: шоргоолжны хүчил (šorgoolžny xüčil), шургуулжны хүчил (šurguulžny xüčil) (pronunciation in China)

  Mongolian: ᠰᠢᠷᠭᠣᠯᠵᠢᠨ ᠦ
  ᠬᠦᠴᠢᠯ (sirɣolǰin-ü küčil)

• Norwegian: maursyre f
• Persian: فرمیک اسید (formik asid), جوهر مورچه (jowhar-e murče)
• Portuguese: ácido fórmico m
• Romanian: acid formic (ro) m
• Russian: муравьи́ная кислота́ (ru) f (muravʹínaja kislotá)
• Serbo-Croatian: mravlja kiselina f
• Spanish: ácido fórmico m
• Swedish: myrsyra (sv) c
• Thai: กรดฟอร์มิก, กรดมด
• Turkish: formik asit (tr)
• Welsh: asid fformig m, asid methanöig m