Where does “nicotine” come from?
Nicotine comes from French nicotine, named after the tobacco plant brought to Europe in the 16th century.
nicotine (English): An alkaloid (C10H14N2), commonly occurring in the tobacco plant
Definitions
- An alkaloid (C10H14N2), commonly occurring in the tobacco plant
Ancestry of “nicotine”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ine | Of or pertaining to; Used to form demonyms;... |
| 2 | French | -ine | feminine singular of -in; female equivalent of... |
| 3 | French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular -er... |
| 4 | Middle French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular; -ed, -en, -n |
| 5 | Old French | -é | used to form past participles of regular -er... |
| 6 | Latin | -a | suffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -ā | Forms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂ | — |