Etymology

serine

S1E1R1I1N1E1

Today it means: A nonessential amino acid, CH₂OH.CH(NH₂)COOH, found in most animal proteins, notably silk. Full definition →

Latin sēricus ← Ancient Greek σηρῐκός (sērĭkós) ← Old Chinese 絲 (*sə)der.?
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The story

  1. Old Chinese絲 (*sə)der.?
  2. Ancient Greekσήρ (sḗr)
  3. Ancient Greekσηρῐκός (sērĭkós)
  4. Latinsēricus
  5. English todayserine

From Latin sericus (“silken”). The compound was first obtained from silk protein, a particularly rich source, in 1865. See also serge.

Words from the same roots

Latinsericus all →

sericulturesericsericeoussericin

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.