Etymograph

English

polyalcohol

Polyalcohol comes from Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’, and goes back to Sumerian na₄.šem-bi-zi-da ‘kohl’.

  1. Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEna₄.šem-bi-zi-datransliteratedcuneiform na₄.šem-bi-zi-da, a transliteration‘kohl’
  2. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlumtransliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration
  3. Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלאkuḥlā‘stibnite, antimony’
  4. Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْلkuḥl‘antimony’
  5. Andalusian Arabicc. 800–1600كُحُولkuḥūl
  6. Medieval Latinmodernalcohol
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alcofol
  8. English1500–presentalcohol
  9. Englishtodaypolyalcohol

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEna₄.šem-bi-zi-datransliteratedcuneiform na₄.šem-bi-zi-da, a transliteration‘kohl’
  2. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlumtransliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration
  3. Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלאkuḥlā‘stibnite, antimony’
  4. Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْلkuḥl‘antimony’
  5. Andalusian Arabicc. 800–1600كُحُولkuḥūl
  6. Medieval Latinmodernalcohol
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alcofol
  8. English1500–presentalcohol
  9. Englishtodaypolyalcohol

A compound of poly- + alcohol

Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’

Proto-Indo-European *polh₁ús ‘much, many’

Ancient Greek πολύς ‘many, much’

English poly-

Sumerian Sumerian form ‘kohl’

…

Aramaic כוחלא

Arabic كُحْل ‘kohl’

Medieval Latin alcohol

Middle English alcofol

English alcohol

Linked words

through Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’

kohl, 18 more

through English alcohol

alcoholic, glycol, thiol, 17 more

Today it means

noun An alcohol containing many hydroxy groups (typically more than two)

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

Etymograph / Sumerian na₄.šem-bi-zi-da / polyalcohol

Shirt and support for this word