The story
From reanalysis of the ending of mannitol, sorbitol and so on, from -ite (an old, non-specific use of this suffix) + -ol.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Today it means: Forming the names of polyhydric alcohols (sugar alcohols). Full definition →
From reanalysis of the ending of mannitol, sorbitol and so on, from -ite (an old, non-specific use of this suffix) + -ol.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.