English
propane
Propane comes from French propionique ‘propionic’.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpropionique‘propionic’
- Englishearliest quotation 1960propane
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpropionique‘propionic’
- Englishearliest quotation 1960propane
Earliest quotation: 1960, Restaurant cars and multiple-units: “Propane gas is used for cooking and cylinder containers…”
A compound of πρό ‘before, in front of’ + πίων ‘fat’
Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘forwards, before’
Proto-Hellenic *pró
Ancient Greek πρό ‘before, in front of’
Proto-Indo-European *peyH- ‘fat’
Ancient Greek πίων ‘fat’
Linked words
through French propionique ‘propionic’
Today it means
noun An aliphatic hydrocarbon, C₃H₈, a constituent of natural gas.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French propionique / propane