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Origin and history of lecithin

lecithin(n.)

fatty substance found in the yolks of eggs (among other places), 1853, from French lécithine (coined 1850 by French pharmacist Theodore N. Gobley), from Greek lekithos "egg yolk," + chemical suffix -ine (2). Greek lekithos is of unknown origin; Beekes writes that, "Because of the suffixes and the meaning, the word is clearly of Pre-Greek origin." Related: Lecithinase.

also from 1853

Entries linking to lecithin

-ine(2)

word-forming element in chemistry, often interchangeable with -in (2), though modern use distinguishes them; early 19c., from French -ine, the suffix commonly used to form words for derived substances, hence its extended use in chemistry. It was applied unsystematically at first (as in aniline), but now has more restricted use.

The French suffix is from Latin -ina, fem. form of -inus, suffix used to form adjectives from nouns, and thus is identical with -ine (1).

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