Etymology

gas

G2A1S1

Today it means: Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can condense into a liquid, or can (rarely) become a solid directly by deposition. Full definition →

Dutch gas ← Ancient Greek χάος (kháos) ← Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

gas · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰeh₂-
  2. Ancient Greekχαῦνος (khaûnos)
  3. Ancient Greekχάος (kháos)
  4. Dutchgas
  5. English todaygas

Borrowed from Dutch gas, coined by chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont in Ortus Medicinae. Derived from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “chasm, void, empty space”); perhaps also inspired by geest (“breath, vapour, spirit”). Doublet of chaos. First attested in 1648.

gas · noun, verb, adjective2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰeh₂-
  2. Ancient Greekχαῦνος (khaûnos)
  3. Ancient Greekχάος (kháos)
  4. Dutchgas
  5. Englishgas
  6. Proto-Hellenic*élaiwon
  7. Ancient Greekἔλαιον (élaion)
  8. Latinoleum
  9. Englishgasolineclip.
  10. English todaygas

Clipping of gasoline. Slang forms popularized on TikTok by Gen Z.

gas · adjective3

Compare the slang usage of "a gas", above.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekχάος all →

chaoschao-chaotropism

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.