Etymology

tetraterpene

T1E1T1R1A1T1E1R1P3E1N1E1

Today it means: Any terpene formed from eight isoprene units, and having forty carbon atoms; they include the carotene plant pigments. Full definition →

English terpene ← 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. Englishterpene
  7. English todaytetraterpene

From tetra- (“four”) + terpene.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.