Where does “retinol” come from?
Retinol derives from retina, which comes from Latin reticulum meaning small net, combined with English alcohol, which derives from Arabic كحل and Latin -culum.
retinol (English): A fat-soluble carotenoid vitamin (vitamin A), present in fish oils and green vegetables, essential to normal vision and to bone development
Definitions
- A fat-soluble carotenoid vitamin (vitamin A), present in fish oils and green vegetables, essential to normal vision and to bone development
Ancestry of “retinol”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ol | An alcohol or phenol; Indicating an oily... |
| 2 | English | alcohol | Any of a class of organic compounds containing a... |
| 3 | French | alcohol | Alternative spelling of alcool |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | alcohol | powdered ore of antimony; kohl, collyrium,... |
| 5 | Arabic | كحل | antimony; kohl, stibnite; black coloring of the... |
| 6 | Arabic | كُحْل | antimony; kohl, stibnite |
| 7 | Akkadian | guḫlum | kohl, antimony paste |