# sulfate

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsʌlfeɪt/ · frequency rank #22,830

## Definitions
1. Any salt or ester of sulfuric acid.

## Etymology
From French sulfate, from New Latin sulphatum, taken from the expression acidum sulphatum (“sulfuric acid”), from sulphatus, from Latin sulphur (“sulfur”). The term was first used in 1787 by the French chemist L. B. G. De Morveau. Equivalent to sulf(ur) + -ate (“salt or ester”).

## Easily confused with
- **surface** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sulfate-vs-surface)
- **sulfide** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sulfate-vs-sulfide)
- **sulphate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sulfate-vs-sulphate)
- **slate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-sulfate)
- **soulmate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soulmate-vs-sulfate)

## Common misspellings (10)
`slufate`, `ssulfate`, `suflate`, `sulafte`, `sulfaet`, `sulfatte`, `sulffate`, `sulftae`, `sullfate`, `uslfate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sulfate