Etymology

phenobarbital

P3H4E1N1O1B3A1R1B3I1T1A1L1

Today it means: A narcotic and sedative barbiturate drug used chiefly to treat epilepsy. Full definition →

English barbital ← French phényle ← Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰh₂nyéti
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pʰáňňō
  4. Ancient Greekφαίνω (phaínō)
  5. Frenchphéno-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  7. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  8. Frenchphényle
  9. Englishphenyl
  10. Englishpheno-
  11. Englishbarbital
  12. English todayphenobarbital

From pheno- + barbital.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.