Etymology

ester

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Today it means: A compound most often formed by the condensation of an alcohol and an acid, with elimination of water, which contains the functional group carbon-oxygen double bond (i.e., carbonyl) joined via carbon to another oxygen atom. Full definition →

German Ester ← Latin aethēr ← Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱéh₁yeti
  3. Proto-Italic*akēō
  4. Latinaceō
  5. Latinacēscō
  6. Latinacētum
  7. Proto-West Germanic*aket
  8. Proto-West Germanic*atek
  9. Old High Germaneȥȥih
  10. Middle High Germaneȥȥich
  11. GermanEssich
  12. GermanEssig
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eydʰ-
  14. Proto-Hellenic*áitʰō
  15. Ancient Greekαἴθω (aíthō)
  16. Ancient Greekᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)influ.?
  17. Ancient Greekαἰθήρ (aithḗr)
  18. Latinaethēr
  19. GermanÄther
  20. GermanEster
  21. English todayester

Borrowed from German Ester, possibly a blend of Essig + Äther. See ether for more.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.