Etymology

phenol

P3H4E1N1O1L1

Today it means: A caustic, poisonous, white crystalline compound, C₆H₅OH, derived from benzene and used in resins, plastics, and pharmaceuticals and in dilute form as a disinfectant and antiseptic; once called carbolic acid Full definition →

French phène ← Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō
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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. Frenchphène
  6. English todayphenol

From French phène, from Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō, “to clear”), as it was used for illumination, name given by Auguste Laurente in 1836. By surface analysis, pheno- + -ol.

Words from the same roots

Frenchphène all →

phene

Ancient Greekφαίνω all →

phenotypetryptophanphenylautophanoushomophenemyophan-phanyphenepheno-phenogampyrophane

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.