Where does “surfactant” come from?
surfactant (English) comes from English agent, from Latin agēns, from Latin agō, from Proto-Italic agō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éǵeti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- — to drive.
surfactant (English): A surface active agent, or wetting agent, capable...
Definitions
- A surface active agent, or wetting agent, capable...
Ancestry of “surfactant”, step by step
surfactant traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English agent
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | agent | One who exerts power, or has the power to act;... |
| 2 | Latin | agēns | doing, acting, making |
| 3 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |
via English surface-active
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | surface-active | capable of lowering the surface tension of a... |