Meaning
Any salt or ester of a phthalic acid.
Etymology
Origin: Unknown
From phthal(ic) + -ate (“salt or ester”), short for obsolete naphthalic acid, from naphthalene.
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025.