English
alcohol
Alcohol comes from Medieval Latin alcohol, from Arabic كُحْل ‘kohl’, and ultimately from Sumerian na₄.šem-bi-zi-da ‘kohl’.
- Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEna₄.šem-bi-zi-datransliteratedcuneiform na₄.šem-bi-zi-da, a transliteration‘kohl’
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlumtransliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration
- Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלאkuḥlā
- Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْلkuḥl‘kohl’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500alcohol
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alcofol
- Englishearliest quotation 2012alcohol
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEna₄.šem-bi-zi-datransliteratedcuneiform na₄.šem-bi-zi-da, a transliteration‘kohl’
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlumtransliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration
- Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלאkuḥlā
- Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْلkuḥl‘kohl’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500alcohol
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alcofol
- Englishearliest quotation 2012alcohol
Earliest quotation: 2012, Jacque Wilson, Experts: Alcohol enemas ‘extremely dangerous’: “Our stomachs and livers have an enzyme known as…”
first attested First attested in the 15th century (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in the 15th century from Middle English alcofol, from Middle French alcohol or Spanish alcohol, derived from the Medieval Latin rendering alcohol transmitted in medical or alchemical literature of Arabic اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl, “kohl”), which in Andalusian Arabic also bore the form كُحُول (kuḥūl), قُحُول (quḥūl); bearing thus the meaning of stibnite first, then generalized in meaning to a powder obtained by triturating a material, then also to liquids obtained by boiling down, and specialized to mean spirit of wine, ethanol, in the 18th century, then the narrow chemical sense after 1850. Various old etymological notes.
Linked words
pairs
- alcohol and kohl both from Arabic كُحْل ‘kohl’
through Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’
through Middle English alcofol
Today it means
noun Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Sumerian na₄.šem-bi-zi-da / alcohol