Etymology

melatonin

M3E1L1A1T1O1N1I1N1

Today it means: A hormone, related to serotonin, that is secreted by the pineal gland, and stimulates colour change in the skin of reptiles, and is involved in the sleep and wake and reproductive cycles in mammals. Full definition →

Ancient Greek μέλας
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromμέλας“black, dark”
  2. English todaymelatonin

From mela- + tone + -in, ultimately from Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “black, dark”).

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekμέλας all →

MelanieMelanesiamelasmela-

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.