Etymology

astatine

A1S1T1A1T1I1N1E1

Today it means: A highly radioactive chemical element (symbol At), one of the halogens, with atomic number 85. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ἄστατος (ástatos) ← Proto-Hellenic *hístāmi ← Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*ə-
  4. Ancient Greekᾰ̓- (ă-)
  5. Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*stísteh₂ti
  7. Proto-Hellenic*hístāmi
  8. Ancient Greekῐ̔́στημῐ (hĭ́stēmĭ)
  9. Ancient Greekἄστατος (ástatos)
  10. English todayastatine

From Ancient Greek ἄστατος (ástatos, “unstable”) + -ine.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.