Definition of the word carbohydrate

The word "carbohydrate" was coined by French chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas in 1838. Dumas derived the term from the Greek words "karbos" meaning "carbon" and "hydrate" meaning "water". He did this because he had discovered that many sugars and starches are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, with a ratio of approximately 1:2:1. In other words, water (hydrate) combined with carbon (carbos) to form these molecules. The term was initially used to describe these specific compounds, but later expanded to include all compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms in a 1:2:1 ratio. Today, carbohydrates are a fundamental class of biomolecules that provide energy and structural support to living organisms.