Where does “cyanide” come from?
Cyanide is a compound name derived from Ancient Greek κυάνεος, an adjective meaning dark blue, with the chemical suffix -ide added in English to denote a binary compound.
cyanide (English): Any compound containing the -C≡N radical or the...
Definitions
- Any compound containing the -C≡N radical or the...
Ancestry of “cyanide”, step by step
cyanide traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English Ide
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ide | named after Saint Ida OS grid ref SX8990 |
| 2 | French | ide | ide fish |
| 3 | Latin | Idus | Alternative form of īdūs: the ides of a Roman... |
| 4 | Swedish | id | effort, work, occupation; the tree "Taxus... |
| 5 | Old Swedish | idhe | — |
| 6 | Old Norse | *iði | — |
| 7 | Old Norse | iðja | to be active, do, perform |
| 8 | Old Norse | ið | work; a restless motion |
via English cyan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cyan | A vibrant pale greenish-blue colour between blue... |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | κύανος | blue |
| 3 | Hittite | kuwannan- | precious stone, copper, blue |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱwey- | to hiss, to whistle, to whisper; to shine, white,... |
via English tips
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tips | plural of tip; Third-person singular simple... |