Etymology

lecithin

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Today it means: The principal phospholipid in animals; it is particularly abundant in egg yolks, and is extracted commercially from soy. It is a major constituent of cell membranes, and is commonly used as a food additive (as an emulsifier). Full definition →

French lécithine ← Ancient Greek λέκιθος
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromλέκιθος“egg yolk”
  2. French · borrowed fromlécithine
  3. English todaylecithin

From French lécithine, coined in 1847 by Theodore Gobley, from Ancient Greek λέκιθος (lékithos, “egg yolk”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.