Etymograph

English

liposome

Liposome comes from Ancient Greek λίπος ‘fat’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leyp-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-1‘fat substance’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lípos1‘fat’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλίπος2lípos‘fat’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1930liposome2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λίπος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English liposome
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1930, Ben Dawes, The Absorption of Fats and Lipoids in the Plaice (P. platess: “Albrecht applied the term "liposome" to small refractive droplets…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λίπος‘fat substance’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*líposWiktionary, Ancient Greek λίπος‘fat’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλίποςWiktionary, English liposomelípos‘fat’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1930liposomeWiktionary, English liposome. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1930, Ben Dawes, The Absorption of Fats and Lipoids in the Plaice (P. platess: “Albrecht applied the term "liposome" to small refractive droplets…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘fat substance’

life, leave, live, living, twelve, eleven, lib, lave, lipa, 18 more

through Proto-Hellenic *lípos ‘fat’

lipid

Today it means

noun An aqueous compartment enclosed by a bimolecular membrane, typically of phospholipid; a lipid vesicle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “liposome”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek λίπος. 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 *leyp- / liposome

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