zinc (English)
Where does "zinc" come from?
The word 'zinc' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European term *h₃dónts, meaning 'tooth' or 'projection.' This evolved through Proto-Germanic into words describing spikes or prongs, eventually appearing in Old High German as 'zinko.' The English word was borrowed from the German 'Zink,' capturing the visual likeness of the metal's jagged, crystalline structure.
Full etymology tree
- zinc (English), 'A chemical element (symbol Zn) with an atomic number of 30, a blue-silvery metal that is slightly brittle at room temperature and tarnishes slightly in moist air.'
- borrowed Zink (German), 'zinc'
- inherited Zinke (German), 'prong'
- inherited zinke (Middle High German)
- inherited zinko (Old High German)
- derived zint (Old High German)
- inherited *tindaz (Proto-Germanic), 'tooth; cog; peg; tine'
- inherited *tind (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited *h₃dónts (Proto-Indo-European), 'tooth'
- inherited *tindaz (Proto-Germanic), 'tooth; cog; peg; tine'
- derived zint (Old High German)
- inherited zinko (Old High German)
- inherited zinke (Middle High German)
- inherited Zinke (German), 'prong'
- borrowed Zink (German), 'zinc'
Direct ancestors
- Zink (German)
- tindaz (Proto-Germanic)
- h₃dónts (Proto-Indo-European)
- tind (Old English)
- tindur (Icelandic)
- tinne (Dutch)
- Zinne (German)
- tinde (Danish)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris