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Semtex

2 stages from Czech to English.

Today it means a malleable plastic explosive

Where does the word "semtex" come from? It comes from Czech Semtex, adopted directly into English (1980s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
Semtex
Czech · 1960s
"plastic explosive"
Semtín, a district of Pardubice, + ex(plosive); the chemists Stanislav Brebera and Radim Fukátko developed it in the late 1950s, and production at Semtín began in 1964
2
Stage 2 of 2
Semtex
English · 1980s
"plastic explosive"
Czechoslovakia exported tonnes to Libya, which passed much to the IRA; the 1988 Lockerbie bomb used it, and odour markers were added from the 1990s
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Read the full story

Semtex’s story begins in Czech: Semtex meant “plastic explosive.” Semtín, a district of Pardubice, + ex(plosive); the chemists Stanislav Brebera and Radim Fukátko developed it in the late 1950s, and production at Semtín began in 1964. It reached English by 1980s as Semtex. Czechoslovakia exported tonnes to Libya, which passed much to the IRA; the 1988 Lockerbie bomb used it, and odour markers were added from the 1990s. Today, semtex means a malleable plastic explosive.