alcohol (English)

Where does "alcohol" come from?

First attested in English in the 15th century, the word 'alcohol' traces back through Middle English 'alcofol' and Medieval Latin to the Arabic term 'al-kuḥl' meaning 'kohl'[1]. This Arabic word ultimately originates from Aramaic and Akkadian terms for antimony[3][5]. Originally denoting a very fine powder obtained by trituration, the meaning shifted over centuries to encompass any fluid obtained by distillation, before specializing to refer to ethanol in the 18th century and acquiring its modern chemical sense after 1850[1].

Open questions

• Some authorities suggest an alternative ultimate etymon from the Arabic term for the bad effect of headache, but this connection is disputed by the well documented relation to stibium. [1]

Full etymology tree

• alcohol (English), 'Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).'
  • inherited alcofol (Middle English)
    • borrowed alcohol (Middle French)
      • derived alcohol (Latin), 'kohl, collyrium, stibium'
        • derived اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl) (Arabic)
          • borrowed כוחלא (kuḥlā) (Aramaic)
            • borrowed 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum) (Akkadian), 'Sumerogram of guḫlum (kohl)'
        • derived كُحُول (kuḥūl) (Andalusian Arabic)
          • derived اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl) (Arabic)
            • borrowed כוחלא (kuḥlā) (Aramaic)
              • borrowed 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum) (Akkadian), 'Sumerogram of guḫlum (kohl)'
    • borrowed alcohol (Spanish), 'alcohol'
      • derived alcohol (Latin), 'kohl, collyrium, stibium'
        • derived اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl) (Arabic)
          • borrowed כוחלא (kuḥlā) (Aramaic)
            • borrowed 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum) (Akkadian), 'Sumerogram of guḫlum (kohl)'
        • derived كُحُول (kuḥūl) (Andalusian Arabic)
          • derived اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl) (Arabic)
            • borrowed כוחלא (kuḥlā) (Aramaic)
              • borrowed 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum) (Akkadian), 'Sumerogram of guḫlum (kohl)'

Ancestors

• alcohol (Spanish)
• كحل (Arabic)

Cognates and doublets

• alcool (English)
• kohl (English)

Descendants and derived words

• alcoholism (English)
• absolute alcohol (English)
• acetic alcohol (English)
• alcohol abuse (English)
• alcohol addiction (English)
• alcoholaemia (English)
• alcoholase (English)
• alcoholate (English)
• alcohol burner (English)
• alcohol by volume (English)
• alcohol clamp (English)
• alcohol dehydrogenase (English)

Sources

1. alcohol (English) - Wiktionary
2. alcohol (Spanish) - Wiktionary
3. كحل (Arabic) - Wiktionary
4. guḫlum (Akkadian) - Wiktionary
5. alcohol (Latin) - Wiktionary
6. كحول (Arabic) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris