English
oxygen
Oxygen comes from French oxygène, from Ancient Greek γένος ‘race, stock, kin’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os‘race, lineage’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*génos‘race’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγένοςgénos‘race, stock, kin’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentoxygène
- Englishearliest quotation 2013oxygen
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-‘to produce’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵénh₁os‘race, lineage’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*génos‘race’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγένοςgénos‘race, stock, kin’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentoxygène
- Englishearliest quotation 2013oxygen
Earliest quotation: 2013, -October, In the News: “Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago,…”
The story
Borrowed from French oxygène (originally in the form principe oxygène, a variant of principe oxigine ‘acidifying principle’, suggested by Lavoisier), from Ancient Greek ὀξύς (oxús, “sharp”) + γένος (génos, “birth”), referring to oxygen's supposed role in the formation of acids.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
kind, king, nature, nation, german, native, engine, pregnant, genuine, genetic, ken, genius, indigenous, naive, gentle, generic, kin, noel, transgender, innate, genesis, natal, regeneration, generosity, nee, nativity, nada, naïve, genital, degenerate, genealogy, ingenious, janata, germ, nascent, degeneration, regenerate, puny, cognate, gentile, 101 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os ‘race, lineage’
general, generation, gender, generate, generous, gene, genuinely, genre, genus, 27 more
through Proto-Hellenic *génos ‘race’
through Ancient Greek γένος ‘race, stock, kin’
Today it means
noun The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas. Sometimes called elemental oxygen to distinguish it from molecular oxygen.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / oxygen