Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “thermoplastic” come from?

Thermoplastic comes from English thermo- combined with plastic, which derives from Latin plasticus, from Ancient Greek πλαστικός meaning capable of being molded or shaped.

thermoplastic (English): softening when heated and hardening when cooled,...

Definitions

  1. softening when heated and hardening when cooled,...

Ancestry of “thermoplastic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishthermo-heat
2Ancient Greekθερμόςwarm, hot, boiling, glowing; hotheaded, hasty,...
3Ancient Greekσφαῖραball, globe, sphere
4Ancient Greek-ειδήςlike, connected to, from the nature of, full of;...
5Ancient Greek-ήςadjective suffix
6Proto-Indo-European-ēsPrimarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds
7Proto-Indo-European-ess—
8Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...

Words derived from “thermoplastic”

  • thermoplastically
  • photothermoplastic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -os →