The story
- Latin · borrowed from(brevifo)li(a)
- English todaypaclitaxel
From Pac(ific yew) + Latin (brevifo)li(a) + -taxel (“alteration of taxol”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Today it means: A taxane antineoplastic drug C₄₇H₅₁NO₁₄ originally isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, but now typically derived as a semisynthetic product of the English yew; it interferes with microtubule function and inhibits cell division, and is used in the treatment of some cancers, especially those of the breast and ovary. Full definition →
From Pac(ific yew) + Latin (brevifo)li(a) + -taxel (“alteration of taxol”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.