Etymology

graphite

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Today it means: An allotrope of carbon, consisting of planes of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal arrays with the planes stacked loosely, that is used as a dry lubricant, in "lead" pencils, and as a moderator in some nuclear reactors. Full definition →

German Graphit ← Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) ← Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gerbʰ-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*grə́pʰō
  3. Ancient Greekγράφω (gráphō)
  4. GermanGraphit
  5. English todaygraphite

Borrowed from German Graphit (A. G. Werner 1789), from Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekγράφω all →

-grapher

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.