English
saccharide
Saccharide comes from Latin saccharum ‘sugar’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ ‘gravel’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱorkeh₂1‘gravel’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*ćárkaraH1reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*śárkaraH1reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEशर्क॑रा1śárkarā
- Palimodernsakkharā1‘sugar’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσάκχαρ2sákkhar‘sugar’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaccharon2‘a syrupy liquid that exudes from bamboo, a kind of sugar’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaccharum2‘sugar’
- English1500–presentsaccharo-2
- Englishearliest quotation 1895saccharide2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σάκχαρ
- 2 Wiktionary, English saccharide
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1895, Richard Lloyd Whiteley, London; New York: Longmans: “The saccharides include such substances as dextrose and levulose,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱorkeh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σάκχαρ‘gravel’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Iranianc. 2500–1800 BCE*ćárkaraHWiktionary, Ancient Greek σάκχαρreconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Aryanprehistoric (reconstructed)*śárkaraHWiktionary, Ancient Greek σάκχαρreconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEशर्क॑राWiktionary, Ancient Greek σάκχαρśárkarā
- PalimodernsakkharāWiktionary, Ancient Greek σάκχαρ‘sugar’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσάκχαρWiktionary, English saccharidesákkhar‘sugar’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaccharonWiktionary, English saccharide‘a syrupy liquid that exudes from bamboo, a kind of sugar’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaccharumWiktionary, English saccharide‘sugar’
- English1500–presentsaccharo-Wiktionary, English saccharide
- Englishearliest quotation 1895saccharideWiktionary, English saccharide. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1895, Richard Lloyd Whiteley, London; New York: Longmans: “The saccharides include such substances as dextrose and levulose,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ ‘gravel’
through Proto-Indo-Aryan *śárkaraH
Today it means
noun The unit structure of carbohydrates, of general formula CₙH₂ₙOₙ. Either the simple sugars or polymers such as starch and cellulose. The saccharides exist in either a ring or short chain conformation, and typically contain five or six carbon atoms.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “saccharide”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek σάκχαρ. 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 *ḱorkeh₂ / saccharide