English
glycol
Glycol comes from Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’, from Ancient Greek γλῠκῠ́ς ‘sweet’, and ultimately from Proto-Hellenic *dlukús.
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dlukús1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγλῠκῠ́ς1glŭkŭ́s‘sweet’
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlum1transliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary
- Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלא1kuḥlā‘stibnite, antimony’
- Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْل1kuḥl‘antimony’
- Andalusian Arabicc. 800–1600كُحُول1kuḥūl
- Medieval Latinmodernalcoho1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alcofol1
- English1500–presentalcohol1
- Englishtodayglycol1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English glycol
Lineage
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dlukúsWiktionary, English glycolreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγλῠκῠ́ςWiktionary, English glycolglŭkŭ́s‘sweet’
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlumWiktionary, English glycoltransliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary
- Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלאWiktionary, English glycolkuḥlā‘stibnite, antimony’
- Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْلWiktionary, English glycolkuḥl‘antimony’
- Andalusian Arabicc. 800–1600كُحُولWiktionary, English glycolkuḥūl
- Medieval LatinmodernalcohoWiktionary, English glycol
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alcofolWiktionary, English glycol
- English1500–presentalcoholWiktionary, English glycol
- EnglishtodayglycolWiktionary, English glycol
Linked words
through Ancient Greek γλῠκῠ́ς ‘sweet’
through Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’
through Middle English alcofol
through English alcohol
Today it means
noun Any aliphatic diol.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “glycol”. 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-Hellenic *dlukús / glycol