Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bentonite” come from?

Bentonite derives from Benton (a place name) plus the English suffix -ite, from French -ite, Latin -ites, and Ancient Greek -ίτης (one belonging to), ultimately from πόλις (city) and Proto-Indo-European -teh₂ts.

bentonite (English): Any of several impure clay minerals consisting...

Definitions

  1. Any of several impure clay minerals consisting...

Ancestry of “bentonite”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBenton—
2Englishbenthon—
3English-ön—
4English-onea ketone; any similar compound containing a...
5EnglishketoneA homologous series of organic molecules whose...
6GermanKetonketone
7GermanAketonacetone
8Frenchacétoneacetone
9Latinacētum—
10French-ate-ate
11Latin-ātus—
12Proto-Italic-ātos—
13Proto-Indo-European-éh₂tos—

Words derived from “bentonite”

  • bentonitic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂tos →