Etymology

serotonin

S1E1R1O1T1O1N1I1N1

Today it means: An indoleamine neurotransmitter, 5-hydroxytryptamine, that is involved in depression, appetite, etc., and is crucial in maintaining a sense of well-being, security, etc. Full definition →

English tone ← Middle English tone ← Latin tonus
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ser-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sér-o-
  3. Proto-Italic*serom
  4. Latinserum
  5. Englishserum
  6. Englishsero-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*ten-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*tónos
  9. Proto-Hellenic*tónos
  10. Ancient Greekτόνος (tónos)
  11. Latintonus
  12. Middle Englishtone
  13. Englishtone
  14. English todayserotonin

From sero- + tone + -in.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.