carbonic acid

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a weak acid, H2CO3, formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water

   Carbonic acid forms when carbon dioxide dissolves in rainwater.

2. 2
   noun

   historical term for carbon dioxide, especially in the phrase carbonic-acid gas

   Nineteenth-century writers sometimes called carbon dioxide carbonic acid gas.

Formed from carbonic, 'relating to carbon,' + acid. Carbonic is carbon + -ic; acid ultimately comes through Old French and Latin acidus, 'sour.' The dated name carbonic-acid gas referred to carbon dioxide, while modern carbonic acid denotes H2CO3 formed when that gas dissolves in water.

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