Etymology

pectin

P3E1C3T1I1N1

Today it means: A plant-derived polysaccharide found in cell walls (especially in fruits) that forms a gel under acidic conditions and is commonly used to thicken foods like jam and jellies. Full definition →

French pectine ← Ancient Greek πηκτικός (pēktikós) ← Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*peh₂ǵ-
  2. Ancient Greekπήγνῡμι (pḗgnūmi)
  3. Ancient Greekπηκτός (pēktós)
  4. Ancient Greekπηκτικός (pēktikós)
  5. Frenchacide pectique
  6. Frenchpectine
  7. English todaypectin

From French pectine, coined in the 1830s by Henri Braconnot, from acide pectique "pectic acid", from Ancient Greek πηκτικός (pēktikós, “curdling”), from πηκτός (pēktós, “curdled”), from πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “stiffen”).

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekπηκτικός all →

pectic

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.