The story
- Ancient Greek · derived fromπλαγκτόν“drifting”
- German · borrowed fromPlankton
- English todayplankton
Borrowed from German Plankton, coined by German zoologist and marine biologist Victor Hensen. By surface analysis, Ancient Greek πλαγκτός (planktós, “drifter”) + -on. Ultimately from Ancient Greek πλαγκτόν (planktón, “drifting”), neuter nominative of πλαγκτός (planktós), from πλάζομαι (plázomai, “to wander, drift”), from πλάζω (plázō, “to cause to wander, drive astray”). By surface analysis, plankt- + -on.
Words from the same roots
Ancient Greekπλαγκτόν all →
planktonicplankto-
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.