Etymology

tetrachloroethylene

Today it means: A liquid chlorocarbon with the formula C₂Cl₄, commonly used in dry cleaning and metal degreasing. Full definition →

English ethylene ← Ancient Greek τετρᾰ- (tetră-) ← Proto-Hellenic *kʷétwores
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷetwóres
  2. Proto-Hellenic*kʷétwores
  3. Ancient Greekτέσσᾰρες (téssăres)
  4. Ancient Greekτετρᾰ- (tetră-)
  5. Englishtetra-
  6. Englishchloro-
  7. Englishethylene
  8. English todaytetrachloroethylene

From tetra- + chloro- + ethylene.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.