English
eutectic
Eutectic comes from Ancient Greek εὔτηκτος ‘easily melted’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεὔτηκτοςeútēktos‘easily melted’
- Englishtodayeutectic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεὔτηκτοςeútēktos‘easily melted’
- Englishtodayeutectic
A compound of εὖ ‘well’ + τήκω ‘to melt’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁su- ‘good’
Proto-Hellenic *ehu- ‘good’
Ancient Greek ἐΰς ‘good’
Ancient Greek εὖ ‘well’
Proto-Indo-European *teh₂- ‘to melt’
Ancient Greek τήκω ‘to melt’
The story
Coined as an adjective (along with the noun eutexia) by British scientist Frederick Guthrie in 1884.
Every English word from Ancient Greek εὔτηκτος
Today it means
adj Describing the chemical composition or temperature of a mixture of substances that gives the lowest temperature at which the mixture becomes fully molten. A further requirement is that that temperature is lower than the melting point of any of the pure component substances.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek εὔτηκτος / eutectic