Frank wrote in news:gt4657$d4a$1
@news.eternal-september.org:

As a chemist who had to study German, I note that acetic acid is,
Essigsäure in German and Essig is the German name for vinegar.
Historically, I assume that as vinegar has been around forever, when the
German's started to develop their chemical talents and extracted acetic
acid from vinegar, they naturally called it vinegar acid. Similar
nomenclature evolved for formic acid (Ameisensäure) which is found in
ants (Ameise).

Same in Dutch:
Azijn is vinegar
Azijnzuur is acetic acid
Mier is ant
Mierezuur is formic acid

But the real point is that vinegar or dilute acetic acid solutions are
mild, but pure concentrated acetic acid is an aggressive acid, though not
an oxidant like sulfuric or nitric acids.

--
Best regards
Han
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