citricadj.

1788 J. St. John tr. L. B. Guyton de Morveau et al. Method Chym. Nomencl. 109 Acid citric.

1790 W. Nicholson tr. A.-F. de Fourcroy Elements Nat. Hist. & Chem. (new ed.) II. 621 We give the name of citric acid to the pure acid which Scheele obtained from lemon-juice.

1825 Trans. Soc. for Encouragement of Arts, Manuf., & Commerce 43 52 The effect of pure citric acid in preventing or mitigating the severity of sea-scurvy is greatly inferior to the recent juice.

1863–72 H. Watts Dict. Chem. I. 995 Citric acid has a strong, but pleasant, acidity, in which respect it differs from tartaric acid.

1939 D. R. White & J. R. Weber in K. Henney & B. Dudley Handbk. Photogr. xi. 343 Citric acid is used as a clarifier. It tends to prevent precipitation of insoluble compounds from some types of hard water.

1989 R. Dryer & G. Lata Exper. Biochem. i. iv. 95 Citric acid and its salts are powerful chelators of Ca²⁺.

2001 E. Schlosser Fast Food Nation vi. 143 Archer Daniels Midland executives also met with their overseas rivals to set the worldwide price for citric acid.

1788 J. St. John tr. L. B. Guyton de Morveau et al. Method Chym. Nomencl. 58 Citric radical.

1837 London & Edinb. Philos. Mag. 11 140 An oily matter almost instantaneously collects at the bottom of the vessel, which is citric æther.

1873 Chem. News 7 Mar. 109/2 Two citric imides are known.

1952 A. M. Smith Manures & Fertilisers vi. 153 If fluorspar has been added it forms a fluorapatite..which has a very low citric solubility.

1972 L. B. Spector in P. D. Boyer Enzymes VII. 368 A reasonable pathway for the hydrolysis is one in which citryl-CoA is first transformed into citric anhydride, which thereafter undergoes reaction with water.

2004 G. Wypych Handbk. Plasticizers xiii. 450 These plasticizers may belong to the following chemical groups:..Citric esters, such as acetyl tributyl citrate.

1792 T. Trotter Obs. on Scurvy (ed. 2) iii. 215 Those fruits abounding with an acid, such as the citric class, are more effectual than others.

1815 Medico-chirurg. Trans. 6 501 The ships employed in this service have of late years been perfectly healthy, by being abundantly supplied with the citric fruits.

1872 Ann. Rep. Amer. Geogr. Soc. N.Y. 1870–71 3 361 They are embowered amid..orchards of Japan plums, oranges and other varieties of citric fruits.

1909 Cuba: Population, Hist. & Resources 1907 (U.S. Bureau of Census) 20 The bitter oranges, of which there are wild groves, are citric plants of greater commercial importance than the sweet oranges.

1953 C. Wagley Amazon Town vii. 246 Even after the first eight days the mother must avoid certain foods which are felt to be strong or harmful, such as eggs, pork, citric fruits, beans, [etc.].

2004 Jrnl. Lat. Amer. Stud. 36 343 A target of 153,000 hectares of additional citric fruit orchards was also specified.

1914 Manch. Guardian 30 Sept. 3/3 The citric scent (that of oranges, lemons, and limes) is obviously the predominant odour.

1935 T. Wolfe Of Time & River xiii. 139 A hundred smells of the rich fecundity of the earth will assail him: the clean sharp pungency of thin crated wood and the citric nostalgia of oranges, lemons, and grapefruit.

1983 N.Y. Mag. 7 Feb. 31/1 A sauce marrying cranberries, currants, lemon, and orange, so splendidly citric it ought to be bottled.

1992 Mod. Painters Spring 95/3 Dirty greys predominate in his canvases, occasionally shot through with a dash of gory red or an acid, citric yellow for the construction workers' helmets and overalls.

2005 B. St Pierre Wine Lover cooks Ital. 133/1 White wine is used in the sauce, and the lemon-zest gremolata added at the end gives it a citric hint.