Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Peroxide
/pəˈrɒksaɪd/noun
A compound containing an oxygen-oxygen single bond, most familiarly hydrogen peroxide.
The Greek roots
ὀξύς
oxýs
sharp, acid
Literally: “beyond-oxide”
Follow a root:ὀξύς12 words
The story of the word
The Latin prefix per- means thoroughly or beyond, and early chemistry used it for a compound carrying more oxygen than the ordinary oxide of the same element. Thénard prepared hydrogen peroxide in 1818. The bleached-blonde sense arrived early in the twentieth century, and it works because the compound breaks apart readily and strips the pigment out of hair on the way.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → French coinage → English
- First recorded
- early 19th century
Same family
oxideoxygenoxidationoxymoron
In a sentence
A bottle of peroxide fizzing on a grazed knee was the sound of childhood first aid.