Etymology

vinyl

V4I1N1Y4L1

Today it means: The univalent radical CH₂=CH−, derived from ethylene. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē) ← Proto-Indo-European *swel-der.? ← Latin vīnum
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*weh₁y-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wéyh₁ō
  3. Proto-Italic*wīnom
  4. Latinvīnum
  5. Proto-Indo-European*swel-der.?
  6. Ancient Greekῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)
  7. English todayvinyl

From Latin vīnum (“wine”) + English -yl. Derived from Latin vīnum because ethyl alcohol is the ordinary alcohol present in wine.

Words from the same roots

Latinvīnum all →

winevinegarvintsulphovinic acidvinaceousvinolentwhimberry

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.