English
azote
Azote comes from French azote ‘nitrogen’, from Ancient Greek ζωή ‘life’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-1‘to live’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷih₃wós1‘alive, living’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷíh₃weti1‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷyṓw-ō1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*d͏̌ṓwō1‘to live’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEζώω1zṓō‘Epic and Ionic form of ζῶ’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEζῶ1zô‘to live’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEζωή1zōḗ‘life’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentazote1‘nitrogen’
- Englishearliest quotation 1791azote1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English azote
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation: “Azote is one of the most abundant elements in…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-Wiktionary, English azote‘to live’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷih₃wósWiktionary, English azote‘alive, living’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷíh₃wetiWiktionary, English azote‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷyṓw-ōWiktionary, English azotereconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*d͏̌ṓwōWiktionary, English azote‘to live’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEζώωWiktionary, English azotezṓō‘Epic and Ionic form of ζῶ’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEζῶWiktionary, English azotezô‘to live’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEζωήWiktionary, English azotezōḗ‘life’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentazoteWiktionary, English azote‘nitrogen’
- Englishearliest quotation 1791azoteWiktionary, English azote. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation: “Azote is one of the most abundant elements in…”
The story
Named by French chemist and biologist Antoine Lavoisier, who saw it as the part of air which cannot sustain life.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’
biology, kidney, vitamin, viable, hygiene, revive, vitality, zodiac, anaerobic, quicken, quicksilver, quickness, biogenesis, wyvern, 56 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós ‘alive, living’
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷíh₃weti ‘to live, to be alive’
vital, vivid, vivacious, convivial, vivacity, 21 more
through Ancient Greek ζωή ‘life’
Today it means
noun Nitrogen.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “azote”. 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 *gʷeyh₃- / azote