Etymology

trinitrotoluene

T1R1I1N1I1T1R1O1T1O1L1U1E1N1E1

Today it means: A highly explosive yellow crystalline substance, (CH₃C₆H₂(NO₂)₃), obtained by reacting nitric acid with toluene. Full definition →

English toluene ← German Toluin ← Ancient Greek νῐ́τρον (nĭ́tron)
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The story

  1. Englishtri-
  2. Egyptiannṯrj
  3. Ancient Greekνῐ́τρον (nĭ́tron)
  4. Englishnitro-
  5. GermanTolu
  6. GermanToluin
  7. Englishtoluene
  8. English todaytrinitrotoluene

From tri- + nitro- + toluene.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.