\Gly*col"ic\, a. (Chem.)
Pertaining to, or derived from, glycol; as, glycolic ether;
glycolic acid.
{Glycolic acid} (Chem.), an organic acid, found naturally in
   unripe grapes and in the leaves of the wild grape
   ({Ampelopsis quinquefolia}), and produced artificially in
   many ways, as by the oxidation of glycol, -- whence its
   name. It is a sirupy, or white crystalline, substance,
   {HO.CH2.CO2H}, has the properties both of an alcohol and
   an acid, and is a type of the hydroxy acids; -- called
   also {hydroxyacetic acid}.