Etymology

aliphatic

A1L1I1P3H4A1T1I1C3

Today it means: Of a class of organic compounds in which the carbon atoms are arranged in an open chain. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ἄλειφαρ
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἄλειφαρ“oil, ointment”
  2. English todayaliphatic

From oblique stem of Ancient Greek ἄλειφαρ (áleiphar, “oil, ointment”) + -ic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.