алкоголь (Russian)
Where does "алкоголь" come from?
The Russian word 'алкоголь' traces its roots back to the ancient Akkadian term 'guḫlum,' which referred to a fine eye-paint powder known as kohl. Through Arabic and Latin, the term traveled into European languages as 'alcohol,' initially describing any finely triturated substance before shifting during the 18th century to refer to distilled spirits of wine. Eventually, it evolved into the modern scientific and common term for ethanol and alcoholic beverages.
Full etymology tree
- алкоголь (Russian), 'ethanol, ethyl alcohol'
- borrowed alcohol (English), 'Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).'
- derived alcofol (Middle English)
- borrowed alcohol (Latin), 'kohl, collyrium, stibium'
- inherited al-kuḥūl (Andalusian Arabic)
- inherited al-kuḥl (Arabic)
- inherited kuḥlā (Aramaic)
- inherited guḫlum (Akkadian), 'kohl, antimony paste (used as eye paint)'
- inherited kuḥlā (Aramaic)
- inherited al-kuḥl (Arabic)
- inherited al-kuḥūl (Andalusian Arabic)
- borrowed alcohol (Latin), 'kohl, collyrium, stibium'
- influence alcohol (Middle French)
- influence alcohol (Spanish), 'alcohol'
- derived alcofol (Middle English)
- borrowed alcohol (English), 'Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).'
Ancestors
- alcohol (English)
- alcohol (Latin)
Updated June 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris