Etymology Map
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Pasteurize

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means to heat food or drink to kill harmful microbes

Where does the word "pasteurize" come from? It comes from Latin pastor, passing through French before entering English (1881).

1
Stage 1 of 3
pastor
Latin · classical
"shepherd"
'shepherd', from pascere 'to feed'; Christian Latin also used it for a priest tending his flock
2
Stage 2 of 3
Pasteur
French · 1864
"a family name"
a surname from Old French pastour 'shepherd'; Louis Pasteur showed in 1864, working on the wines of Arbois, that gentle heating stopped spoilage
3
Stage 3 of 3
pasteurize
English · 1881
"to heat-sterilise"
applied to milk from the 1880s; Chicago was the first US city to require milk pasteurisation, in 1908
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Read the full story

Pasteurize’s story begins in Latin: pastor meant “shepherd.” 'shepherd', from pascere 'to feed'; Christian Latin also used it for a priest tending his flock. By 1864, the word had taken hold in French as Pasteur. A surname from Old French pastour 'shepherd'; Louis Pasteur showed in 1864, working on the wines of Arbois, that gentle heating stopped spoilage. It reached English by 1881 as pasteurize. Applied to milk from the 1880s; Chicago was the first US city to require milk pasteurisation, in 1908. Today, pasteurize means to heat food or drink to kill harmful microbes.