Langimage
English

noncarbonate

|non/car/bon/ate|

C2

🇺🇸

/nɑnˈkɑrbəneɪt/

🇬🇧

/nɒnˈkɑːbəneɪt/

not a carbonate

Etymology
Etymology Information

'noncarbonate' is a Modern English compound formed from the negative prefix 'non-' (meaning 'not') + 'carbonate' (a salt or ester of carbonic acid).

Historical Evolution

'carbonate' entered English via French 'carbonate' and Medieval Latin 'carbonatus', ultimately from Latin 'carbo' meaning 'coal' or 'carbon'; the productive English prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non') combined with 'carbonate' in Modern English to form 'noncarbonate'.

Meaning Changes

The element 'carbonate' originally referred to salts of carbonic acid; the compound 'noncarbonate' has been used in technical contexts to mean simply 'not a carbonate' and has retained that literal negative meaning.

Meanings by Part of Speech

Noun 1

a substance or material that is not a carbonate (a noncarbonate material).

The laboratory separated carbonates from noncarbonates for further analysis.

Synonyms

non-carbonatecarbonate-free substance

Antonyms

Adjective 1

not a carbonate; not containing carbonate ions or carbonate minerals (used especially in geology/chemistry to describe materials that lack carbonate components).

The rock sample was noncarbonate in composition, indicating a lack of carbonate minerals.

Synonyms

non-carbonatecarbonate-freenot carbonate

Antonyms

carbonatecarbonate-bearing

Last updated: 2026/01/14 06:05