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asbestos

Etymology and origin of the English word asbestos

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /æsˈbɛs.tɒs/, /æsˈbɛs.təs/ (UK); /æsˈbɛs.təs/, /æz-/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin asbestos,[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἄσβεστος (ásbestos, “unquenchable”),[2][3][4][6][5] from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + σβέννυμι (sbénnumi, “to quench”).[2][3][4][6] In Greek the noun meant quicklime, which “burns” when water is poured on it.[4][6][2] It replaced earlier albeston and abestus,[3][4][6] from Old French abeste, abeston and Medieval Latin albeston.[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fabulous stone which, once set alight, could not be put out (abestus before 1100;[3][4] 1387 in the OED).[7]

Semantic evolution

Pliny mistakenly applied the Greek word to an incombustible fibre that he thought was vegetable.[4][3] The fibrous mineral that can be woven into fireproof cloth has been called asbestos in English since 1607;[3][6][7] earlier it was amiant, from the Greek for “undefiled”.[4] In the Middle Ages it was thought to be salamanders' wool.[4] Merriam-Webster notes that asbestos causes asbestosis and has been implicated in some cancers.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1100 – abestus, a fabulous stone.[3][4]
  • 1387 – the unquenchable stone.[7]
  • 1607 – the fibrous mineral.[3][6][7]
  • 1658 – the form asbestos.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of several fibrous minerals, forms of magnesium silicate, formerly used for fireproofing, insulation and brake linings.
  2. A fireproof fabric woven from asbestos fibres, as for a theatre curtain.

Adjective

  1. Made of or containing asbestos.

Word family

  • asbestine
  • asbestoid
  • asbestosis
  • asbestos cement
  • blue asbestos

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Asbestos.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/asbestos. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·