Etymology

ionophore

I1O1N1O1P3H4O1R1E1

Today it means: Any substance that can transfer ions from a hydrophilic medium (such as water) to a hydrophobic medium, or across a biological membrane, normally by forming a reversible complex with it; an ion carrier Full definition →

Ancient Greek φέρω (phérō) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰérō ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
  3. Proto-Hellenic*éimi
  4. Ancient Greekἰόν (ión)
  5. Englishion
  6. Proto-Indo-European*bʰer-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéreti
  8. Proto-Hellenic*pʰérō
  9. Ancient Greekφέρω (phérō)
  10. English todayionophore

From ion + -o- + -phore.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.