The Collaborative International Dictionary
Margaric \Mar*gar"ic\, a. [Cf. F. margarique. See Margarite.] Pertaining to, or resembling, pearl; pearly. Margaric acid.
(Physiol. Chem.) A fatty body, crystallizing in pearly scales, and obtained by digesting saponified fats (soaps) with an acid. It was formerly supposed to be an individual fatty acid, but is now known to be simply an intimate mixture of stearic and palmitic acids.
(Chem.) A white, crystalline substance, C17H34O2 of the fatty acid series, intermediate between palmitic and stearic acids, and obtained from the wax of certain lichens, from cetyl cyanide, and other sources. Called also heptadecanoic acid.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1819, from French margarique (Chevreul), from Greek margaron "pearl" + -ic. Obsolete in science.
Wiktionary
a. Pertaining to pearl or pearls (rare except in designation of margaric acid).
WordNet
Usage examples of "margaric".
From these three acids-oleic, margaric, and stearic-the first, being liquid, was driven out by a sufficient pressure.
Comrades, we shall overthrow the government as true as there are fifteen intermediary acids between margaric acid and formic acid.
Comrades, we will overturn the government, as true as there are fifteen acids intermediate between margaric acid and formic acid, which I don't care a fig about.