Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “quinine” come from?

Quinine comes from Quechua kina, which derives from Latin quini (a group of five), from Latin quinque (five), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pénkʷe (five).

quinine (English): A bitter colourless powder, an alkaloid derived...

Definitions

  1. A bitter colourless powder, an alkaloid derived...

Ancestry of “quinine”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchquininequinine
2Spanishquinaquinine; toxic wine; double five
3Latinquinanominative neuter plural of quīnī; accusative...
4Latinquinifive each; five at a time
5Latinquinquefive; 5
6Proto-Italickʷenkʷefive
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpénkʷefive

Words derived from “quinine”

  • quinic
  • quinina
  • iodoquinine
  • quinism
  • quininic
  • quininism
  • quininization
  • quinogen
  • quinological
  • quiniferous
  • quinologist
  • nonquinine
  • quinology
  • quininize
  • 奎寧
  • kinin
  • кинин
  • quinín
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pénkʷe →