Where does “烴” come from?

烴 (Chinese) comes from Chinese 氫, from Chinese Mandarin 氣, from Middle Chinese 氣 — spirit; breath.

烴 (Chinese): hydrocarbon

Definitions

  1. hydrocarbon

Ancestry of “烴”, step by step

烴 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Chinese 氫

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese氫—
2Chinese Mandarin氣—
3Middle Chinese氣spirit; breath

via Chinese 碳

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese碳—
2Chinese炭coal
3Proto-Sino-Tibetantalcharcoal; dust; ashes
Every word from Middle Chinese 氣 →Every word from Chinese Mandarin 氣 →Every word from Chinese 氫 →