English
bioalcohol
Bioalcohol comes from Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’, and goes back to Sumerian na₄.šem-bi-zi-da ‘kohl’.
- Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEna₄.šem-bi-zi-da1transliteratedcuneiform na₄.šem-bi-zi-da, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘kohl’
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlum2transliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary
- Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלא2kuḥlā‘stibnite, antimony’
- Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْل2kuḥl‘antimony’
- Andalusian Arabicc. 800–1600كُحُول2kuḥūl
- Medieval Latinmodernalcohol2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alcofol2
- English1500–presentalcohol2
- Englishtodaybioalcohol2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕
- 2 Wiktionary, English bioalcohol
Lineage
- Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEna₄.šem-bi-zi-daWiktionary, Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕transliteratedcuneiform na₄.šem-bi-zi-da, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘kohl’
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlumWiktionary, English bioalcoholtransliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary
- Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלאWiktionary, English bioalcoholkuḥlā‘stibnite, antimony’
- Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْلWiktionary, English bioalcoholkuḥl‘antimony’
- Andalusian Arabicc. 800–1600كُحُولWiktionary, English bioalcoholkuḥūl
- Medieval LatinmodernalcoholWiktionary, English bioalcohol
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alcofolWiktionary, English bioalcohol
- English1500–presentalcoholWiktionary, English bioalcohol
- EnglishtodaybioalcoholWiktionary, English bioalcohol
Linked words
through Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’
through English alcohol
Today it means
noun alcohol produced, by fermentation of crops, for use as a biofuel; especially bioethanol
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “bioalcohol”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕. 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 na₄.šem-bi-zi-da / bioalcohol