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polystyrene

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Etymology and origin of the English word polystyrene

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1927 G. S. Whitby, India-Rubber Journal More words from the 20th century
Ultimate origins
Ancient Greek πολύςLatin styrax

Pronunciation

  • /pɒliˈstaɪriːn/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English poly- + styrene,[2][3][4][5][6] because the substance is a polymer of the liquid hydrocarbon styrene.[7][2] The name of the hydrocarbon, recorded from 1885, is formed from the stem of styrax, the storax tree from whose resin it was first obtained, and the suffix -ene.[2][7][8] The tree's name comes through Latin from a Greek word that Etymonline considers of Semitic origin.[7] Compare French polystyrène, recorded from 1936 or earlier.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A polymer of styrene, especially a hard thermoplastic resin: 1927, in an article by G. S. Whitby in the India-Rubber Journal.[2][3] Etymonline dates the word to 1922.[7]

Semantic evolution

The word was first a chemists' name for the polymer, especially the hard, colourless resin.[2][7] It soon came to cover the plastics made from it, which are used as light rigid foams, as moulding materials and as films.[2][4] The white foam, expanded polystyrene, is used for insulation and packing, and the clear, glassy form for light fittings and water tanks.[9] From 1938 the short form styrene was also used for the plastic.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1927 – a polymer of styrene, especially a hard thermoplastic resin.[2][3] Etymonline dates the word to 1922, and Dictionary.com to 1925–30.[7][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A polymer of styrene; especially a hard, clear thermoplastic resin that insulates well and absorbs little moisture.[3][2]
  2. Any of the plastics made from it, used as a light, rigid white foam for insulation and packing, and in moulded goods and films: The new fridge came packed in blocks of polystyrene.[9][2][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  7. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Polystyrene.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/polystyrene. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·