Etymograph

English

dynamite

Dynamite comes from Ancient Greek δύναμις ‘power’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδύναμις1dúnamis‘power’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1954dynamite1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dynamite
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Trevor Holloway, Canada's Transcontinental Railway: “Gradually the construction gangs cut and dynamited their way…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδύναμιςWiktionary, English dynamitedúnamis‘power’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1954dynamiteWiktionary, English dynamite. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Trevor Holloway, Canada's Transcontinental Railway: “Gradually the construction gangs cut and dynamited their way…”

Formed from ite

The story

Coined by Alfred Nobel in 1867.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Ancient Greek δύναμις ‘power’

thermodynamic, hydrodynamic, psychodynamic, hemodynamic, biodynamic, 57 more

Today it means

noun A class of explosives made from nitroglycerine in an absorbent medium such as kieselguhr, used in mining and blasting.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dynamite”. 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 / Ancient Greek δύναμις / dynamite

Shirt and support for this word