Etymology

tetryl

T1E1T1R1Y4L1

Today it means: The explosive 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl-N-methylnitramine produced by the nitration of dimethylaniline. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē) ← English tetra- ← 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. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  7. English todaytetryl

From tetra- (“four”) + -yl (“radical”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.