Ever heard of ascorbic acid? It is better known as "vitamin C". Ever wonder what "ascorbic" means ?

Here's a hint in the form of a question: what disease is vitamin C famously known for preventing? A hint within a hint: sailors who spent long times at sea without fresh fruit or vegetables (though even fresh meat can prevent it) used to get this disease.

That's right: scurvy.

And, so ascorbic acid is the acid which prevents scurvy. If the scientists who discovered it were inclined to use English names, it could've been called ascurvic acid. Instead, they went with the Latin root of "scurvy", "scorbutus".

For more on vitamin C and scurvy, go read more about scurvy and how the cure was discovered, then lost, then discovered again.