Etymology

hemicellulose

H4E1M3I1C3E1L1L1U1L1O1S1E1

Today it means: A mixture of several plant polysaccharides, of smaller molecular weight than cellulose, that are soluble in dilute alkali; they are involved in the manufacture of paper, and are used in the production of furfural and ethanol. Full definition →

English cellulose ← French cellulose ← Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.?
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sēmi
  3. Proto-Hellenic[Term?]
  4. Ancient Greekἡμῐ- (hēmĭ-)
  5. Englishhemi-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
  7. Latincella
  8. Latincellula
  9. Frenchcellule
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*h₃édosder.?
  12. Frenchcellulose
  13. Englishcellulose
  14. English todayhemicellulose

From hemi- (“half”) + cellulose.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.