Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “plastic” come from?

Plastic comes from Latin plasticus, from Ancient Greek πλαστικός, derived from Ancient Greek -σις and Proto-Indo-European -kos and -tis.

plastic (English): A synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer,...

Definitions

  1. A synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer,...

Ancestry of “plastic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
2Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
3Old English-iġ-y, -ic
4Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
5Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “plastic”

  • plasticity
  • neoplastic
  • thermoplastic
  • plasticizer
  • paraneoplastic
  • antineoplastic
  • plastically
  • neuroplasticity
  • plasticine
  • viscoplastic
  • superplasticizer
  • preneoplastic
  • nonneoplastic
  • plasticization
  • Plasticine
  • neuroplastic
  • pseudoplastic
  • viscoplasticity
  • plasticiser
  • nonplastic
  • superplastic
  • superplasticity
  • bioplastic
  • plasticky
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →