English
choline
Choline comes from Ancient Greek χολή ‘bile’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘green, yellow’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰelh₃-‘green, yellow’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʰolā́‘gall, bile’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχολήkholḗ‘bile’
- Englishtodaycholine
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰelh₃-‘green, yellow’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʰolā́‘gall, bile’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχολήkholḗ‘bile’
- Englishtodaycholine
The story
Coined from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). The chemical compound was first isolated by Adolph Strecker from pig and ox bile (hence the name) in 1862. It was also named neurine when chemically synthesized by Oscar Liebreich in 1865, until 1898 when shown to be identical to choline.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘green, yellow’
gold, fell, yellow, gall, felon, gullible, chlorine, yolk, cholera, gild, glib, zloty, chlorella, 28 more
Today it means
noun A hydroxy quaternary ammonium compound with formula (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂CH₂OHX⁻. It is an essential nutrient for cardiovascular and brain health and for cell membrane formation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- / choline