a. Chem. [f. BENZO-IN + -IC. (The first of the chemical terms so formed.)] Of or derived from benzoin; as Benzoic acid, C7 H6 O2 (= C6 H5.CO.OH), a monobasic acid of the Aromatic series, existing in large quantity in gum benzoin, from which it was at first prepared.
1791. Hamilton, Berthollet’s Dyeing, I. I. I. v. 85. Benzoic acid, or salt of benzoin.
1819. J. Children, Chem. Anal., 274. Benzoic acid, formed from gum benzoin, is solid, white, and slightly ductile … it crystallizes in long white opaque prisms, with a satiny lustre.
1830. Lindley, Nat. Syst. Bot., 303. The fragrance of some grasses … depends, according to Vögel, upon the presence of Benzoic acid.
