Where does “mercapto-” come from?

mercapto- (English) comes from English mercaptan, from German Mercaptan, from Latin captans, from Latin captō, from Latin capiō, from Proto-Italic kapiō, from Proto-Italic kapjō, from Proto-Indo-European kh₂pyéti — to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,...

mercapto- (English): an organosulfur compound that contains a...

Definitions

  1. an organosulfur compound that contains a...

Ancestry of “mercapto-”, step by step

mercapto- traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English mercaptan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmercaptanAny of a class of organic compounds of sulphur, (R-SH) where R represents an alkyl or other organic substituent. They tend to be foul-smelling. They are also termed thiols or thioalcohols
2GermanMercaptanmercaptan
3Latincaptanscapturing
4Latincaptōto strive to seize, catch or grasp at
5Latincapiōto take, to capture, to catch, to seize, to take captive, to storm
6Proto-Italickapiōtake
7Proto-Italickapjōtake, seize
8Proto-Indo-Europeankh₂pyéti
9Proto-Indo-Europeankeh₂p-to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,...

via English ‐o‐

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English‐o‐
2Latin‐o‐
3Ancient Greek-ό-

via Latin mercurium captans

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmercurium captans

Words derived from “mercapto-

Every word from Proto-Indo-European keh₂p-
mercapto- — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer