Where does “chiral” come from?
Chiral comes from Ancient Greek χείρ meaning hand, via Proto-Hellenic kʰéhər and Proto-Indo-European ǵʰésōr, from the root ǵʰes-.
chiral (English): that exhibits chirality
Definitions
- that exhibits chirality
Ancestry of “chiral”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ál | Of or pertaining to. Adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to produce an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also |
| 2 | English | aldehyde | Any of a large class of reactive organic... |
| 3 | German | Aldehyd | aldehyde |
| 4 | Latin | alcohol | kohl, collyrium, stibium; any other powder... |
| 5 | Andalusian Arabic | كُحُول | — |
| 6 | Arabic | كحل | antimony; kohl, stibnite; black coloring of the... |
| 7 | Arabic | كُحْل | antimony; kohl, stibnite |
| 8 | Akkadian | guḫlum | kohl, antimony paste |