Etymology

phytoalexin

P3H4Y4T1O1A1L1E1X8I1N1

Today it means: any of several classes of antibiotics produced by plants in response to microorganisms Full definition →

English alexin ← Ancient Greek φῠτόν (phŭtón) ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyéti
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuHyéti
  3. Ancient Greekφῠ́ω (phŭ́ō)
  4. Ancient Greekφῠτός (phŭtós)
  5. Ancient Greekφῠτόν (phŭtón)
  6. Englishphyto-
  7. Englishalexin
  8. English todayphytoalexin

From phyto- + alexin.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.