aliphatic
/ælɪˈfætɪk/adjective, noun
aliphatic is spelled A-L-I-P-H-A-T-I-C: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, aliphatic means “Of a class of organic compounds in which the carbon atoms are arranged in an open chain” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in aliphatic?
| Letters | 9: A-L-I-P-H-A-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,788th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is aliphatic?
Aliphatic appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,788th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce aliphatic?
- /ælɪˈfætɪk/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Neøn-aliphatic.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Tesco250-aliphatic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of aliphatic
- aliphatics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does aliphatic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a class of organic compounds in which the carbon atoms are arranged in an open chain.
noun
- 1
A compound of this type.
- 2
A petroleum fraction containing no aromatic compounds
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Aliphatic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense organic chemistry: having carbon atoms arranged in an open chain:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | aliphatique |
| German | aliphatisch |
| Portuguese | alifático |
| Spanish | alifático |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does aliphatic come from?
From oblique stem of Ancient Greek ἄλειφαρ (áleiphar, “oil, ointment”) + -ic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).