Etymology

penicillin

pen·i·cil·lin
P3E1N1I1C3I1L1L1I1N1

Today it means: Any of a group of narrow-spectrum antibiotics obtained from Penicillium molds or synthesized, that have a beta-lactam structure and are active against gram-positive bacteria and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases. Full definition →

Latin pēnicillum ← Proto-Italic *peznis ← Proto-Indo-European *pes-ni-s
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pes-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pes-ni-s
  3. Proto-Italic*peznis
  4. Latinpēnis
  5. Latinpēniculus
  6. Latinpēnicillum
  7. English todaypenicillin

From translingual Penicillium + -in. Coined by Alexander Fleming after Penicillium notatum (now Penicillium chrysogenum), a fungus from which penicillin is obtained.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.