Etymology

tetrahydrofolate

Today it means: The conjugate base of, or any salt or ester of, tetrahydrofolic acid; it is a coenzyme, formed by reduction of folic acid, involved in the biosynthesis of purines. Full definition →

English folate ← 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. Englishhydro-
  7. Englishfolate
  8. English todaytetrahydrofolate

From tetra- + hydro- + folate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.