Where does “phenylalanine” come from?
Phenylalanine is a modern English scientific coinage from aldehyde and alanine, ultimately deriving from Ancient Greek φαίνω meaning "to show" and Proto-Indo-European roots bʰeh₂- and bʰeh₂-s-ri-.
phenylalanine (English): An essential amino acid CHNO found in most animal...
Definitions
- An essential amino acid CHNO found in most animal...
Ancestry of “phenylalanine”, step by step
phenylalanine traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English alanine
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | alanine | A nonessential amino acid "2-aminopropanoic acid"... |
| 2 | English | aldehyde | Any of a large class of reactive organic... |
| 3 | German | Aldehyd | aldehyde |
| 4 | Latin | alcohol | kohl, collyrium, stibium; any other powder... |
| 5 | Andalusian Arabic | كُحُول | — |
| 6 | Arabic | كحل | antimony; kohl, stibnite; black coloring of the... |
| 7 | Arabic | كُحْل | antimony; kohl, stibnite |
| 8 | Akkadian | guḫlum | kohl, antimony paste |