Etymology

luciferin

L1U1C3I1F4E1R1I1N1

Today it means: Any of a class of polycyclic heterocycles that are responsible for the bioluminescence of fireflies, being converted to oxyluciferin by luciferase in the process. Full definition →

Latin lūcifer ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰorós ← Proto-Italic *louks
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewk-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*léwks
  3. Proto-Italic*louks
  4. Latinlūx
  5. Proto-Indo-European*bʰer-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*bʰorós
  7. Latinlūcifer
  8. English todayluciferin

From Latin lūcifer (“light bringer”) + English -in.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.