Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Polyethylene
/ˌpɒliˈɛθɪliːn/noun
The commonest plastic, a polymer of ethylene used in bags, bottles, pipe and film.
The Greek roots
πολύς
polús
many, much
αἰθήρ
aithḗr
upper air, bright sky
ὕλη
hýlē
matter, wood
Literally: “many ether-substance units”
The story of the word
Three Greek pieces, none of them chosen by a Greek. αἰθήρ gave chemistry ether; the -yl ending comes from ὕλη, matter, the same word Aristotle used for the stuff a thing is made of; πολύς does the counting. Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson found the white waxy solid by accident at ICI in 1933 when a high-pressure vessel leaked. Its first serious job was insulating radar cable in the war, which is a strange origin for the material of the shopping bag.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 1930s
Same family
polymeretherhylomorphismpolygon
In a sentence
High-density polyethylene holds its shape; the low-density kind is what a carrier bag is made of.