Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “amitriptyline” come from?

Amitriptyline is a blend of amine and triptyline, with amine from ammonia, which derives from Latin -inus, ultimately tracing to Latin -anus, a suffix forming adjectives.

amitriptyline (English): An antidepressant drug; a tablet containing this...

Definitions

  1. An antidepressant drug; a tablet containing this...

Ancestry of “amitriptyline”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishamino-Of amines and of the amino functional group
2EnglishamineA functional group formally derived from ammonia...
3English-ineOf or pertaining to; Used to form demonyms;...
4French-inefeminine singular of -in; female equivalent of...
5French-épast participle root verb suffix of regular -er...
6Middle French-é—
7Old French-éused to form past participles of regular -er...
8Latin-asuffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent...
9Proto-Italic-ā—
10Proto-Indo-European-éh₂—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂ →