Etymology

leucine

L1E1U1C3I1N1E1

Today it means: An essential amino acid, C₆H₁₃NO₂, isomeric with isoleucine, found in most animal proteins; it is essential for growth in children. Full definition →

Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós) ← Proto-Hellenic *leukós ← Proto-Indo-European *lewkós
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewk-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*lewkós
  3. Proto-Hellenic*leukós
  4. Ancient Greekλευκός (leukós)
  5. English todayleucine

Derived from Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, “white”) + -ine, equivalent to leuco- + -ine.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekλευκός all →

leukemialeucisticleucoleuco-leucophoreleuko-leukorrhea

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.