Where does “polystyrene” come from?

Polystyrene is a blend of poly- and styrene, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- meaning to fill or be full, via Proto-Indo-European polh₁ús and English -ene.

polystyrene (English): A vinylic polymer of styrene, CHCHphenyl; An...

Definitions

  1. A vinylic polymer of styrene, CHCHphenyl; An...

Ancestry of “polystyrene”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstyreneAn aromatic hydrocarbon; a colourless, oily...
2English-eneAn unsaturated hydrocarbon having at least one...
3French-ène-ene
4Ancient Greek-ηνός-ian, -ese
5Ancient Greek-νόςAlternative form of -νος
6Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁-to do, put, place

Words derived from “polystyrene”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- →