vitamin

Where does the word "vitamin" come from? It comes from Latin vita, passing through English before entering English (1920).

Vitamin’s story begins in Latin: vita meant “life.” 'life', as in Suetonius's De vita Caesarum, the Lives of the Caesars. By 1912, the word had taken hold in English as vitamine. The Polish biochemist Casimir Funk, working at the Lister Institute in London, coined it in 1912 from vita + amine, believing these vital nutrients were all amines. It reached English by 1920 as vitamin. When most turned out not to be amines, Jack Drummond proposed in 1920 dropping the final e. Today, vitamin means any of a group of organic compounds essential in small amounts for health.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical vita "life", 'life', as in Suetonius's De vita Caesarum, the Lives of the Caesars.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1912 vitamine "vital amine", the Polish biochemist Casimir Funk, working at the Lister Institute in London, coined it in 1912 from vita + amine, believing these vital nutrients were all amines.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1920 vitamin "essential micronutrient", when most turned out not to be amines, Jack Drummond proposed in 1920 dropping the final e.