Etymology

amphiphilic

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Today it means: Being a detergent: having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic (or lipophilic) groups. Full definition →

English amphi- ← Ancient Greek ἀμφίς (amphís) ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂m̥bʰi
  4. Ancient Greekἀμφίς (amphís)
  5. Englishamphi-
  6. English todayamphiphilic

From amphi- + -philic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.