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polyester

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Etymology and origin of the English word polyester

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1922 Journal of the American Chemical Society
Ultimate origins
English poly-German Ester
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English ester
English polyester

Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɑliˌɛstə(r)/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English poly- + ester,[2][3][4][5] as a term of the international scientific vocabulary.[6] Etymonline takes the first part as short for polymer.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In chemistry, a polymer whose units are joined by an ester linkage: 1922, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.[2][6] Barnhart and Etymonline date the word to 1929.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

From the chemical term the word passed to the products made from such polymers: synthetic resins and plastics (1946) and a man-made fibre, or fabric made from it (1951).[2] Etymonline dates the discovery of the man-made fibre to 1941.[7] The attributive use, made of polyester, is recorded from 1952.[2] From the cheap synthetic clothing came a figurative adjective, chiefly American, meaning false or synthetic (1979),[2] or lacking taste and originality (1975),[6] and on American campuses a polyester was something out of fashion (1990).[8]

Timeline

  • 1922 – a polymer with ester linkages, in chemistry.[2][6]
  • 1946 – a synthetic resin or plastic made from such polymers.[2]
  • 1951 – a man-made fibre, or a fabric made from it.[2]
  • 1952 – attributive, made of polyester.[2]
  • 1975 – adjective, tasteless or unoriginal.[6]
  • 1979 – figurative, false, synthetic.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Any of a large class of synthetic polymers whose units are joined by ester linkages, used to make plastics, resins and fibres.[9][6][2]
  2. A man-made fibre of such a polymer, or a fabric made from it: a shirt of cotton and polyester.[6][2]

Adjective

  1. Made of polyester: a polyester raincoat.[2]
  2. (chiefly US) Lacking taste or originality; synthetic or false.[6][2]

Word family

  • polyesterification

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 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Polyester.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/polyester. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·