cocaine

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /kəʊˈkeɪn/, US /koʊˈkeɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from French cocaïne (1856),^[2][3] formed from coca, from Spanish coca, from Quechua kuka,^[2][3] and the chemical suffix -ine.^[2][3][4] Etymonline credits the coinage to Albert Niemann of the University of Göttingen,^[3] and Merriam-Webster says it was originally formed as German Kokain.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The alkaloid obtained from coca leaves: 1874.^[2][6][5]

Semantic evolution

A medical coinage, the drug was used from the 1870s as a local anaesthetic.^[3] Cocainize, to treat with cocaine, is from 1887,^[6] and cocainism, addiction to cocaine, is recorded by 1885.^[3] Etymonline notes that although cocaine is pronounced in two syllables, it is formed of three.^[3]

Timeline

• 1856 – French cocaïne.^[2]
• 1874 – cocaine.^[2][6]
• 1885 – cocainism.^[3]
• 1887 – cocainize.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An addictive narcotic drug made from coca leaves, used medically as a local anaesthetic and illegally as a stimulant.

Word family

• cocainism
• cocainize
• -caine

Related words

• cokehead
• coca
• coke

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press