Etymograph

English

aldehyde

Aldehyde comes from German Aldehyd, from Ancient Greek ῡ̆̔́δωρ ‘water’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wed-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-1‘water’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wódr̥1‘water’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*údōr1‘water’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῡ̆̔́δωρ1hū̆́dōr‘water’next step skipped: Latin al(cohol) dehyd(rogenātum)
  5. Germanc. 1650–presentAldehyd1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2020aldehyde1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English aldehyde
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became: “The air smells of strange, oceanic aldehydes.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wed-Wiktionary, English aldehyde‘water’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wódr̥Wiktionary, English aldehyde‘water’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*údōrWiktionary, English aldehyde‘water’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEῡ̆̔́δωρWiktionary, English aldehydehū̆́dōr‘water’next step skipped: Latin al(cohol) dehyd(rogenātum)
  5. Germanc. 1650–presentAldehydWiktionary, English aldehyde
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2020aldehydeWiktionary, English aldehyde. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became: “The air smells of strange, oceanic aldehydes.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wed- ‘water’

wet, wash, und, abundance, surround, abundant, redundant, otter, vitriol, vitreous, inundate, undine, 43 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ ‘water’

water, vodka, vedra, anhydrous, 18 more

through Proto-Hellenic *údōr ‘water’

hydro, 15 more

through Ancient Greek ῡ̆̔́δωρ ‘water’

hydrate, hydride, 3 more

Today it means

noun Any of a large class of reactive organic compounds (R·CHO) having a carbonyl functional group attached to one hydrocarbon radical and a hydrogen atom.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “aldehyde”. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *wed- / aldehyde

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