Etymograph

English

selenium

Selenium comes from Ancient Greek σελήνη ‘moon’, and goes back to Proto-Hellenic *selasnā.

  1. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*selasnā1reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσελήνη2selḗnē‘moon’
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentsélénium2
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2019selenium2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σελήνη
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English selenium
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants: “Pluck almost any cell from your body and it…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*selasnāWiktionary, Ancient Greek σελήνηreconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσελήνηWiktionary, English seleniumselḗnē‘moon’
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentséléniumWiktionary, English selenium
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2019seleniumWiktionary, English selenium. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants: “Pluck almost any cell from your body and it…”

The story

From French sélénium, the name coined by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1818 from Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē, “moon”) in reference to original confusion with the similar element tellurium.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Proto-Hellenic *selasnā

Today it means

noun A nonmetallic chemical element (symbol Se) with an atomic number of 34, used mainly in glassmaking and pigments and as a semiconductor.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Hellenic *selasnā / selenium

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