Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “graphite” come from?

Graphite comes from German Graphit, derived from Ancient Greek γράφω meaning "to write," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gerebh- and ger-.

graphite (English): An allotrope of carbon, consisting of planes of...

Definitions

  1. An allotrope of carbon, consisting of planes of...

Ancestry of “graphite”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germangraphit—
2German-it-ite
3French-itéAlternative form of -té, giving a quality or...
4Latin-īta—
5Ancient Greek-ίτηςSuffix forming a masculine noun: one connected...
6Ancient Greekπολῑ́τηςcitizen
7Ancient Greek-τηςForms nouns representing a state of being; Added...
8Proto-Hellenic-tāts—
9Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
10Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
11Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “graphite”

  • graphene
  • graphitic
  • graphitization
  • graphitizable
  • nongraphitizable
  • graphitize
  • graphited
  • nongraphitic
  • graphitelike
  • electrographite
  • nongraphite
  • aerographite
  • graphitoid
  • graphino
  • penta-graphene
  • nanographene
  • fluorographene
  • semigraphitic
  • graphitate
  • multigraphene
  • แกรไฟต์
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →