Etymology

chlorofluorocarbon

Today it means: Any of a class of organic compounds in which the hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon are replaced with those of chlorine and fluorine; formerly used as refrigerants and aerosol can propellants but withdrawn due to causing damage to the ozone layer. Full definition →

English fluorocarbon ← French carbone ← Latin carbōnem
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰelh₃-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰl̥h₃rós
  3. Proto-Hellenic*kʰlōrós
  4. Ancient Greekχλωρός (khlōrós)
  5. Englishchloro-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*bʰlewH-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*bʰluH-yé-ti?
  9. Latinfluō
  10. Latinfluor
  11. Englishfluoro-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*kerh₃-der.?
  13. Latincarbōnem
  14. Frenchcarbone
  15. Englishcarbon
  16. Englishfluorocarbon
  17. English todaychlorofluorocarbon

From chloro- + fluorocarbon.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.