Etymology

vaseline

V4A1S1E1L1I1N1E1

Today it means: Petroleum jelly. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion) ← Proto-Hellenic *élaiwon ← German Wasser
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  3. Proto-Germanic*watōr
  4. Proto-West Germanic*watar
  5. Old High Germanwaȥȥar
  6. Middle High Germanwaȥȥer
  7. GermanWasser
  8. Proto-Hellenic*élaiwon
  9. Ancient Greekἔλαιον (élaion)
  10. English todayvaseline

From German Wasser (“water”) + Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “oil”) + -ine. Genericized trademark of the Vaseline brand of petroleum jelly introduced by American chemist Robert Augustus Chesebrough in 1872.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.