English
desiccant
Desiccant comes from Latin dēsiccans, from siccō ‘dry up’, and ultimately from siccus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsiccus‘dry’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsiccō‘dry up’next step skipped: Latin dēsiccō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsiccans
- Englishtodaydesiccant
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsiccus‘dry’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsiccō‘dry up’next step skipped: Latin dēsiccō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsiccans
- Englishtodaydesiccant
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to dry up’
saw, sex, risk, section, ship, sign, sexual, seal, segment, insect, sawyer, scarlet, sax, het, shingle, dissect, sickle, scythe, seg, sedge, sich, sigil, sain, brassica, 64 more
through Latin siccus ‘dry’
Today it means
noun A substance (such as calcium oxide or silica gel) that is used as a drying agent because of its high affinity for water.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin siccus / desiccant