Organic chemistry: what is a fatty acid?

Self-tutoring about organic chemistry: the tutor mentions the term fatty acid.

One hears about fatty acids sometimes, for instance with digestion of fats (see my post here). Yet, what are they, really?

Apparently, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid whose carbon chain will typically have 12 or more carbons. In turn, a carboxylic acid, by definition, contains the terminal group -COOH, in which one oxygen is double-bonded to the carbon, while the other is bonded to the carbon and also to a H atom. Said H atom’s nucleus (simply a proton) is the one that can be donated to another species.

I realize there is more to say about organic acids, of which carboxylic ones are one kind.

Source:

chem.libretexts.org