Etymology

choline

C3H4O1L1I1N1E1

Today it means: A hydroxy quaternary ammonium compound with formula (CH₃)₃N⁺CH₂CH₂OHX⁻. It is an essential nutrient for cardiovascular and brain health and for cell membrane formation. Full definition →

Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ) ← Proto-Hellenic *kʰolā́ ← Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰelh₃-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*kʰolā́
  3. Ancient Greekχολή (kholḗ)
  4. English todaycholine

Coined from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). The chemical compound was first isolated by Adolph Strecker from pig and ox bile (hence the name) in 1862. It was also named neurine when chemically synthesized by Oscar Liebreich in 1865, until 1898 when shown to be identical to choline.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekχολή all →

choliccholercholaemiacholangio-chole-cholecystcholecystischolic acidcholochrome

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.