Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “macromolecule” come from?

Macromolecule comes from English macro- combined with molecule, which derives from Latin moles meaning "mass" with the diminutive suffix -culus, itself from Latin -lus.

macromolecule (English): A very large molecule, especially used in...

Definitions

  1. A very large molecule, especially used in...

Ancestry of “macromolecule”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishmacro-large; long; inclusive
2Frenchmacro-macro-
3Latinmacro-large
4Ancient Greekμακρόςlong; tall, deep; far, distant
5Proto-Italicmakros—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmh₂ḱróslean, meager
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmeh₂ḱ-to raise, increase; long

Words derived from “macromolecule”

  • biomacromolecule
Every word from Proto-Indo-European meh₂ḱ- →