Etymology

petrochemical

P3E1T1R1O1C3H4E1M3I1C3A1L1

Today it means: Any chemical derived from petroleum. Full definition →

English chemical ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← New Latin chēmicus
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The story

  1. Ancient Greekπέτρᾱ (pétrā)
  2. Latinpetra
  3. Englishpetro-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰew-
  5. Ancient Greekχῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă)
  6. Ancient Greekχυμείᾱ (khumeíā)
  7. Arabicالْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)
  8. Medieval Latinalchēmia
  9. Ancient Greekχυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ.
  10. New Latinchēmia
  11. New Latinchēmicus
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  14. Englishchemical
  15. English todaypetrochemical

From petro- + chemical.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.