Etymograph

English

plastic

Plastic comes from Latin plasticus ‘of molding’, from Ancient Greek πλαστικός ‘fit for moulding’, and ultimately from πλάσσω ‘to mold, form’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσσωplássō‘to mold’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπλαστικόςplastikós‘fit for moulding’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplasticus‘of molding’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1718plastic

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσσωplássō‘to mold’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπλαστικόςplastikós‘fit for moulding’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplasticus‘of molding’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1718plastic

Earliest quotation: 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.: “Benign Creator! let thy plastic hand dispose its own…”

Linked words

through Ancient Greek πλάσσω ‘to mold, form’

plasma, hyperplasia, plasmodium, 13 more

Today it means

noun A synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek πλάσσω / plastic

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