Etymology

polyoxyethylene

P3O1L1Y4O1X8Y4E1T1H4Y4L1E1N1E1

Today it means: any polymer of ethylene glycol having a general formula HO-(CH₂CH₂O)ₙ-H; they are used in the manufacture of emulsifiers Full definition →

English ethylene ← Ancient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s) ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-der.?
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*polh₁ús
  3. Ancient Greekπολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)
  4. Englishpoly-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-der.?
  6. Ancient Greekὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s)
  7. Englishoxy-
  8. Englishethylene
  9. English todaypolyoxyethylene

From poly- + oxy- + ethylene.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.