Where does “detergent” come from?

Detergent comes from French détergent, from Latin detergens, the present participle of detergeo, composed of the prefix de and a root from Proto-Indo-European terh₁-.

detergent (English): Any non-soap cleaning agent, especially a...

Definitions

  1. Any non-soap cleaning agent, especially a...

Ancestry of “detergent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchdétergentdetergent
2Middle Frenchdetergent—
3Latindētergēnswiping off
4Latindētergeōto wipe off, wipe away, clean by wiping
5Latintergeōto rub, wipe, wipe off, clean, cleanse

Words derived from “detergent”

Every word from Latin tergeō →Every word from Latin dētergeō →Every word from Latin dētergēns →