Etymology

ichthyol

I1C3H4T1H4Y4O1L1

Today it means: The ammonium salt of sulfonated bitumen; used to treat some forms of skin diseases Full definition →

Ancient Greek ἰχθύς
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἰχθύς“fish”
  2. English todayichthyol

Ancient Greek ἰχθύς (ikhthús, “fish”) + -ol, since it is an oily mixture prepared by dry distillation of a bituminous mineral containing fossil fishes.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekἰχθύς all →

ichthyophthiriasisichthyopterygiumichthyosaur

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.