English
purpuromycin
Purpuromycin comes from Latin purpura ‘purple’, from Ancient Greek πορφύρω ‘(of waves) to heave, boil, surge up’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrewh₁-1‘to boil’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπορφύρω2porphúrō‘(of waves) to heave, boil, surge up’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπορφύρα3‘purple-fish’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpurpura4‘purple’
- Englishtodaypurpuromycin4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πορφύρω
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πορφύρα, which cites Beekes
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin purpura
- 4 Wiktionary, English purpuromycin
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrewh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πορφύρω‘to boil’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπορφύρωWiktionary, Ancient Greek πορφύρα, which cites Beekesporphúrō‘(of waves) to heave, boil, surge up’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπορφύραWiktionary, Latin purpura‘purple-fish’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpurpuraWiktionary, English purpuromycin‘purple’
- EnglishtodaypurpuromycinWiktionary, English purpuromycin
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- ‘to boil’
brand, bread, burn, brew, bourbon, broth, bourne, brunt, brim, fervor, fervent, ferment, bren, effervescent, broil, briny, 40 more
through Ancient Greek πορφύρα ‘purple-fish’
through Latin purpura ‘purple’
Today it means
noun An antibiotic isolated from Actinoplanes ianthinogenes.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “purpuromycin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πορφύρω, Ancient Greek πορφύρα, Latin purpura. 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 *bʰrewh₁- / purpuromycin