docosahexaenoic acid

do·co·sa·hex·a·e·no·ic acid

 (dō′kō-sə-hĕk′sə-ĭ-nō′ĭk)

n. Abbr. DHA

An omega-3 fatty acid, C₂₂H₃₂O₂, found in cold-water fish and in certain algae.

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[docosa-, twenty-two, from its twenty-two carbon atoms (do- from Greek dō-, two, as in dōdeka, twelve; see dodecagon + Greek eikosi, twenty; see wīkm̥tī- in Indo-European roots) + -hexaene, having six double bonds (hexa- + -ene) + -oic.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

docosahexaenoic acid - an omega-3 fatty acid with 22 carbon atoms; found in fish (especially tuna and bluefish) omega-3, omega-3 fatty acid - a polyunsaturated fatty acid whose carbon chain has its first double valence bond three carbons from the beginning

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