Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Polystyrene
/ˌpɒliˈstaɪriːn/noun
A hard, cheap plastic made by linking styrene molecules, familiar as packaging foam and disposable cups.
The Greek roots
πολύς
polýs
many, much
στύραξ
stýrax
storax, a fragrant resin
Literally: “many storax units”
The story of the word
Styrene was first distilled in 1839 from storax, the sweet resin tapped from the oriental sweetgum tree and burned as incense since antiquity. Chemists kept the plant's Greek name after the plant became irrelevant to the process, so a petrochemical still carries the label of a temple perfume. Commercial polystyrene arrived in the 1930s; the foam version came a decade or so later.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 20th century
Same family
polygonpolymerpolyphonymonomer
In a sentence
The whole crate was packed with polystyrene beads that clung to everything.