alcoolismo (Portuguese)

Where does "alcoolismo" come from?

The Portuguese noun 'alcoolismo' is formed within the language by combining the root 'álcool' with the suffix '-ismo'[1]. The base word 'álcool' ultimately traces back through Spanish or Medieval Latin to the Arabic 'اَلْكُحْل'[2], which originally referred to a fine powder of antimony or stibium derived from earlier Semitic and Akkadian roots[3][4].

Open questions

• The Akkadian form 'guḫlum' is of unknown origin, though it is likely a Semitic loanword. [4]

Full etymology tree

• alcoolismo (Portuguese), 'alcoholism (chronic disease)'
  • derived álcool (Portuguese), 'alcohol (ethanol)'
    • borrowed اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl) (Arabic)
      • derived كحل (kuḥl) (Arabic), 'antimony'
        • borrowed כוחלא (kuḥlā) (Aramaic)
          • borrowed 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum) (Akkadian), 'Sumerogram of guḫlum (kohl)'
  • suffix -ismo (Portuguese), '-ism'

Ancestors

• álcool (Portuguese)
• -ismo (Portuguese)

Sources

1. alcoolismo (Portuguese) - Wiktionary
2. álcool (Portuguese) - Wiktionary
3. كحل (kuḥl) (Arabic) - Wiktionary
4. guḫlum (Akkadian) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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