Etymology

denatonium

D2E1N1A1T1O1N1I1U1M3

Today it means: A quaternary ammonium cation N-benzyl-2-(2,6-dimethylanilino)-N,N-diethyl-2-oxoethan-1-aminium benzoate; the most bitter chemical compound known, whose salts are used as aversive agents to prevent accidental ingestion of dangerous substances. Full definition →

English onium ← New Latin ammōnium ← French dénaturer
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The story

  1. Old Frenchdesnaturer
  2. Frenchdénaturer
  3. Englishdenature
  4. New Latinammōnium
  5. Englishammonium
  6. Englishonium
  7. English todaydenatonium

From denat(ure) + -onium (“a quaternary ammonium compound”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.