Where does “butanol” come from?
Butanol comes from English butyl, from Arabic كحل (kohl, a cosmetic powder), combined with the chemical suffix -ol denoting alcohols.
butanol (English): Any of four isomeric aliphatic alcohols, CH-OH
Definitions
- Any of four isomeric aliphatic alcohols, CH-OH
Ancestry of “butanol”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ol | An alcohol or phenol; Indicating an oily... |
| 2 | English | alcohol | Any of a class of organic compounds containing a... |
| 3 | French | alcohol | Alternative spelling of alcool |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | alcohol | powdered ore of antimony; kohl, collyrium,... |
| 5 | Arabic | كحل | antimony; kohl, stibnite; black coloring of the... |
| 6 | Arabic | كُحْل | antimony; kohl, stibnite |
| 7 | Akkadian | guḫlum | — |
Words derived from “butanol”