acrylic

Etymology

It is from German Acrylsäure (“acrylic acid”), a name given in 1843 by J. Redtenbacher, from which the first part acryl- was taken, with the English suffix -ic.^[2] Merriam-Webster takes it through French acide acrylique, a partial translation of the German name.^[3] The German acryl- is made of the first part of Acrolein (“acrolein”) and the suffix -yl.^[2][4][3][5] The German Acrolein (1835) was formed from Latin ācer (“sharp, pungent”) and oleō (“to smell”), with the German suffix -in;^[2][6][7][8] the Oxford Dictionary of English instead takes its second part from oleum (“oil”).^[9] Acrolein is an acrid liquid that makes the eyes water,^[7] and the Latin adjective is also the source of acrid.^[8][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In chemistry, of or containing the acryl radical: 1843, in the Chemical Gazette.^[2][7][3] Barnhart dates the word to 1855,^[6] and Dictionary.com to 1855–60.^[5]

Semantic evolution

For nearly a century the word was used only in chemistry, of acrylic acid and its compounds.^[2][10] In 1936 it was applied to resins, plastics and artificial fibres made by polymerising them,^[2] while from 1940 it was a noun for such a material.^[2][3] Barnhart dates the noun to 1960.^[6] Acrylic paint is recorded from 1955, and acrylic alone for the paint, or a painting in it, from 1951.^[2] Etymonline notes that modern uses are often short for acrylic fibre, acrylic resin and the like.^[7][11] In late-1990s American campus slang acrylic meant hard or hard to tolerate, from the hardness of acrylic paint.^[12]

Timeline

• 1843 – in chemistry, of the acryl radical.^[2][3]
• 1936 – of resins, plastics and fibres made from acrylic compounds.^[2]
• 1940 – noun, an acrylic fibre or plastic.^[2][3]
• 1951 – noun, acrylic paint.^[2]
• 1955 – of paint, made with acrylic resin.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (chemistry) Of or relating to acrylic acid or its derivatives.^[11][3][2]
2. Made of an acrylic resin, plastic or fibre: an acrylic sweater.^[3][2]

Noun

1. An acrylic fibre, resin or plastic: The aquarium's walls are made of thick acrylic.^[11][3][2]
2. A paint whose binder is an acrylic resin; a painting done in such paint: She works mostly in acrylics.^[11][3][2]

Word family

• acrylate
• modacrylic
• acrylic fiber

Related words

• acrolein
• acrid

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com