A salt or ester of abietic acid, found in conifer resins and used in varnishes and adhesives.
Derived from 'abietic' (relating to abietic acid) plus the chemical suffix '-ate' (indicating a salt or ester). Abietic acid itself comes from 'abies' (the fir tree genus), since this acid is a major component of rosin derived from conifer resin.
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