English
amyl
Amyl comes from Latin amylum ‘starch’, from Ancient Greek ἄμῠλος ‘not ground at the mill: finely ground (of meal)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*mólāreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύληmúlē‘mill’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἄμῠλοςámŭlos‘not ground at the mill: finely ground (of meal)’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἄμῠλονámŭlon
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamylum‘starch’
- Englishearliest quotation 1971amyl
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*melh₂-reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*mólāreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύληmúlē‘mill’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἄμῠλοςámŭlos‘not ground at the mill: finely ground (of meal)’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἄμῠλονámŭlon
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamylum‘starch’
- Englishearliest quotation 1971amyl
Earliest quotation: 1971, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: “We had two bags of grass, 75 pellets of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-
miller, meal, mill, mild, mold, mole, mould, mule, muller, bonanza, molar, mullet, melatonin, mull, malleable, camo, moulin, maelstrom, martel, moline, amalgam, malm, 38 more
through Latin amylum ‘starch’
Today it means
noun Synonym of pentyl.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- / amyl