English
vinyl
Vinyl comes from Latin vīnum ‘wine’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wéyh₁ō.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyh₁ō‘wine’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīnom‘wine’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīnum‘wine’
- Englishearliest quotation 1979vinyl
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyh₁ō‘wine’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīnom‘wine’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīnum‘wine’
- Englishearliest quotation 1979vinyl
Earliest quotation: 1979, Earth, Boogie Wonderland: “Dance, boogie wonderland / Sound fly through the night…”
The story
Derived from Latin vīnum because ethyl alcohol is the ordinary alcohol present in wine.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y- ‘to twist’
with, weak, novel, wire, iris, vise, vetch, 29 more
through Latin vīnum ‘wine’
Today it means
noun The univalent radical CH₂=CH−, derived from ethylene.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wéyh₁ō / vinyl