Etymology

naphthalene

N1A1P3H4T1H4A1L1E1N1E1

Today it means: A white crystalline hydrocarbon manufactured from coal tar; used in mothballs. Full definition →

English naphth(a) ← Latin naphtha ← Ancient Greek νάφθα (náphtha)
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The story

  1. Akkadiannapṭumbor.?
  2. Old Persian*naftah
  3. Ancient Greekνάφθα (náphtha)
  4. Latinnaphtha
  5. Englishnaphth(a)
  6. English todaynaphthalene

From naphth(a) + -al + -ene.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.