Etymologically
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arsenic

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈɑɹsənɪk/, /ɑɹˈsɛnɪk/[1]
  • UK: /ˈɑː(ɹ).sə.nɪk/, /ɑː(ɹ)ˈsɛnɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English arsenik, also arsnek and arsenicum,[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman arsenik, also arcenik, and Middle French arcenic,[3] and directly borrowed from Latin arsenicon, also arsenicum.[3][4][5][6] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek ἀρσενικόν (arsenikón, “yellow orpiment”), Attic ἀρρενικόν (arrhenikón).[3][7] Its form looks like the neuter of ἀρσενικός (arsenikós, “male, virile”), from ἄρσην (ársēn, “male”), as if the substance were named for its powerful properties,[5][4][7][1] but this is a folk etymology.[5][4][6][8] The Greek word was adapted from a Semitic language,[3][5][7] probably from Classical Syriac ܙܪܢܝܟܐ (zarnīḵā, “orpiment”);[1][4][5] Ayto, the Oxford Dictionary of English and the Shorter Oxford instead name an Arabic form with the definite article.[9][10][11] The Semitic word is from Middle Persian *zarnīk (“golden, gold-coloured”),[5][4][7][12] which the OED describes as an unattested Middle Iranian word;[3] the name fits the lemon-yellow colour of orpiment.[4][3] It is related to Avestan zaranya- (“gold”),[3][7][13] and Etymonline derives it from Proto-Iranian *zarna- (“golden”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghel- (“to shine”), the root of yellow and gold.[4][12][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Arsenic trisulphide, the bright yellow mineral also called orpiment, formerly used as a dye and artist's pigment: before 1393, in Gower's Confessio Amantis.[3][5][13] Chaucer used the word once, in the form arsenyk.[14]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the yellow sulphide, the substance properly called orpiment.[4][9][13] The OED records red arsenic (realgar) and white arsenic (arsenic trioxide) from about 1425,[3] although Ayto finds the word used of white arsenic only from the early 17th century.[9] White arsenic was the poison; from 1583 arsenic alone meant a poison made of an arsenic compound, also figuratively.[3] The OED dates the use for the chemical element from 1747;[3] Etymonline from 1812,[4] and Ayto says the element was isolated and named at the start of the 19th century.[9] In the late 18th century chemists also made an adjective, stressed on the second syllable, for compounds of pentavalent arsenic, reading the ending as the suffix -ic of nitric and phosphoric.[3][11][6]

Timeline

  • before 1393 – yellow arsenic, orpiment.[3][5]
  • c. 1425 – red arsenic (realgar) and white arsenic (arsenic trioxide).[3]
  • 1583 – a poison made of an arsenic compound.[3]
  • 1747 – the chemical element.[3] Etymonline dates this sense to 1812.[4]
  • 1788 – adjective, of compounds of pentavalent arsenic.[3] Merriam-Webster dates the adjective to 1798.[6]
  • 1841 – verb, to poison or treat with arsenic.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A brittle, steel-grey metalloid element with highly poisonous compounds, found in minerals such as orpiment and realgar and used in alloys and semiconductors; symbol As, atomic number 33.[15][6][3]
  2. Arsenic trioxide, a white, highly toxic compound used as a poison: The victim had been given arsenic in his tea.[15][3]
  3. (historical) Yellow arsenic, arsenic trisulphide, formerly used as a pigment and dye.[3][13]

Adjective

  1. (chemistry) Of or containing arsenic, especially in compounds in which it is pentavalent.[6][15][3][11]

Verb

  1. To poison or dose with arsenic.[3]

Word family

  • arsenate
  • arsenide
  • arsenious
  • arsenite
  • arseno-
  • arsenous
  • arsine
  • arsenical
  • arsphenamine
  • neoarsphenamine
  • orpiment
  • yellow
  • gold

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  9. ^ a b c d e Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  13. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  14. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  15. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins