Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “oligonucleotide” come from?

Oligonucleotide comes from English oligo- and nucleotide, where nucleotide derives from English nucleus and the suffix -ide, with nucleus from Latin nucleus meaning kernel, ultimately from Latin nux meaning nut, traced to Proto-Indo-European ken-.

oligonucleotide (English): a short sequence of nucleotides , typically with...

Definitions

  1. a short sequence of nucleotides , typically with...

Ancestry of “oligonucleotide”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishnucleotideThe monomer constituting DNA or RNA biopolymer...
2Englishnucleo-Forming words pertaining to nuclei
3Latinnū̆cleus—
4Latinnuculeapertaining to a small nut
5Latin-eusargentum + API → argenteus; ferrum + API →...
6Ancient Greek-εῖοςForms adjectives, usually with a meaning of "of"...
7Proto-Indo-European-iHwós—
8Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “oligonucleotide”

  • ribooligonucleotide
  • oligonucleotidase
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →