Plural of acid; chemical substances that typically have a sour taste, can corrode metals, and turn litmus paper red.
From Latin acidus 'sour, sharp', from acere 'to be sour', related to acer 'sharp'. The chemical term was coined in the 17th century when scientists began understanding that the sour taste of substances like vinegar and citrus indicated specific chemical properties involving hydrogen ions.
Acids were among the first chemicals humans learned to recognize by taste - long before understanding pH levels, our ancestors knew that sour foods could preserve meat and that certain substances could etch metal. The word 'acid' in music and drug culture (acid rock, acid house) plays on the substance's reputation for intensity and transformation.
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