gossypol

G2O1S1S1Y4P3O1L1
UK/ɡɒs.ɪ.pɒl/US/ɡɑs.ɪˌpɔl/

noun

Any of a class of toxic polyphenols found in the seeds of the cotton plant.

OriginEnglish alcohol ← Middle English alcofol ← Medieval Latin alcoho →
RareScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noungossypol (countable and uncountable, plural gossypols)

plural gossypols

  1. countableuncountablebiochemistryAny of a class of toxic polyphenols found in the seeds of the cotton plant.

Origin

  1. Latingossypium
  2. Akkadian𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)
  3. Aramaicכוחלא (kuḥlā)
  4. Arabicكُحْل (kuḥl)
  5. Andalusian Arabicكُحُول (kuḥūl)
  6. Medieval Latinalcoho
  7. Middle Englishalcofol
  8. Englishalcohol
  9. Englishgossypol

From Latin gossypium (“cotton”) + English -ol.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

gossypol. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gossypol

MLA

“gossypol.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gossypol. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gossypol,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gossypol.

Source: gossypol on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.