Etymology

haloform

H4A1L1O1F4O1R1M3

Today it means: Any trihalomethane with all halogens the same, CHX₃. Full definition →

English formic ← Ancient Greek ᾰ̔́λς (hắls) ← Proto-Hellenic *hā́ls
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sḗh₂l
  2. Proto-Hellenic*hā́ls
  3. Ancient Greekᾰ̔́λς (hắls)
  4. Englishhalo-
  5. Englishformic
  6. English todayhaloform

From halo- + -form.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.