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fe·ru·lic acid

(fə-rlĭk)

A compound, C₁₀H₁₀O₄, forming a component of plant cell walls and used in the industrial manufacture of vanillin.

[From New Latin Ferula, plant genus including asafetida (since it was first isolated from asafetida), from Latin ferula, giant fennel; see FESCUE.]

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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