Etymology

phosphinous

P3H4O1S1P3H4I1N1O1U1S1

Today it means: Of or pertaining to phosphinous acid or its derivatives. Full definition →

English phosphine ← Latin phōsphorus ← Ancient Greek φωσφόρος (phōsphóros)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂os
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pʰáwos
  4. Ancient Greekφᾰ́ος (phắos)
  5. Ancient Greekφῶς (phôs)
  6. Ancient Greekφωσφόρος (phōsphóros)
  7. Latinphōsphorus
  8. Englishphosphorusclip.
  9. Englishphosph-
  10. Englishphosphine
  11. English todayphosphinous

From phosphine + -ous.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.