English
alcohol
Alcohol comes from Medieval Latin alcohol, from Arabic ููุญูู โkohlโ, and ultimately from Sumerian ๐๐๐ฃ๐ โkohlโ.
- Sumerianc. 3100โ1800 BCE๐๐๐ฃ๐1^(naโ)ลกem-bi-zi-daas ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐โkohlโ
- Akkadianc. 2500โ100 BCE๐๐๐๐ฃ๐2guแธซlum
- Aramaicc. 1000 BCEโ700 CEืืืืื2kuแธฅlฤ
- Arabicc. 500โpresentููุญูู2kuแธฅlโkohlโ
- Medieval Latinc. 600โ1500alcohol2
- Middle Englishc. 1150โ1500alcofol2
- Englishearliest quotation 2012alcohol2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Akkadian ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐
- 2 Wiktionary, English alcohol
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionaryโs entry: 2012, Jacque Wilson, Experts: Alcohol enemas โextremely dangerousโ: โOur stomachs and livers have an enzyme known asโฆโ.
Lineage
- Sumerianc. 3100โ1800 BCE๐๐๐ฃ๐Wiktionary, Akkadian ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐^(naโ)ลกem-bi-zi-daas ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐โkohlโ
- Akkadianc. 2500โ100 BCE๐๐๐๐ฃ๐Wiktionary, English alcoholguแธซlum
- Aramaicc. 1000 BCEโ700 CEืืืืืWiktionary, English alcoholkuแธฅlฤ
- Arabicc. 500โpresentููุญููWiktionary, English alcoholkuแธฅlโkohlโ
- Medieval Latinc. 600โ1500alcoholWiktionary, English alcohol
- Middle Englishc. 1150โ1500alcofolWiktionary, English alcohol
- Englishearliest quotation 2012alcoholWiktionary, English alcohol. Earliest quotation in Wiktionaryโs entry: 2012, Jacque Wilson, Experts: Alcohol enemas โextremely dangerousโ: โOur stomachs and livers have an enzyme known asโฆโ
first attested First attested in the 15th century (as stated in Wiktionaryโs etymology)
The story
First attested in the 15th century from Middle English alcofol, from Middle French alcohol or Spanish alcohol, derived from the Medieval Latin rendering alcohol transmitted in medical or alchemical literature of Arabic ุงูููููุญูู (al-kuแธฅl, โkohlโ), which in Andalusian Arabic also bore the form ููุญููู (kuแธฅลซl), ููุญููู (quแธฅลซl); bearing thus the meaning of stibnite first, then generalized in meaning to a powder obtained by triturating a material, then also to liquids obtained by boiling down, and specialized to mean spirit of wine, ethanol, in the 18th century, then the narrow chemical sense after 1850. Various old etymological notes.
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with alcohol, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Arabic ููุญูู โantimonyโ
38 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, โalcoholโ; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Akkadian ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Sumerian ๐๐๐ฃ๐ / alcohol