Etymology

nitrostarch

N1I1T1R1O1S1T1A1R1C3H4

Today it means: An explosive powder prepared by the nitration of starch; used for demolition. Full definition →

English starch ← Ancient Greek νῐ́τρον (nĭ́tron) ← Egyptian nṯrj
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The story

  1. Egyptiannṯr
  2. Egyptiannṯrj
  3. Ancient Greekνῐ́τρον (nĭ́tron)
  4. Englishnitro-
  5. Englishstarch
  6. English todaynitrostarch

From nitro- + starch.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.