Etymology

carbanion

C3A1R1B3A1N1I1O1N1

Today it means: any organic anion of general formula R₃C⁻ Full definition →

English anion ← Ancient Greek ἀνῐόν (anĭón) ← Proto-Hellenic *éimi
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The story

  1. Englishcarb-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂en-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*aná
  4. Ancient Greekᾰ̓νᾰ́ (ănắ)
  5. Ancient Greekᾰ̓νᾰ- (ănă-)
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
  8. Proto-Hellenic*éimi
  9. Ancient Greekῐ̓όν (ĭón)
  10. Ancient Greekἀνῐόν (anĭón)
  11. Englishanion
  12. English todaycarbanion

From carb- + anion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.