vinyl

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvaɪ.nəl/, UK also /ˈvaɪ.nɪl/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin vīnum (“wine”) (see wine) and -yl,^[2][3][4] through ethylene and ethyl, since ethyl alcohol is the ordinary alcohol present in wine.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In chemistry, the univalent radical derived from ethylene: from 1851 in Etymonline,^[3] 1863 in Henry Watts's Dictionary of Chemistry, which Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster give as the first record.^[2][5][4]

Semantic evolution

A plastic or synthetic resin made from vinyl compounds is first recorded in 1939, short for polyvinyl,^[2][3][5] though it was not in wide use until the late 1950s;^[3] a covering material or fabric of it is from 1959.^[5] The slang sense, gramophone records, is from 1976,^[5][3] replacing wax in that sense.^[3]

Timeline

• 1851 – the vinyl radical.^[3]
• 1863 – first dictionary record.^[2][5]
• 1939 – a plastic resin.^[2][3]
• 1959 – a vinyl covering.^[5]
• 1976 – gramophone records.^[5][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Any of various tough, flexible plastics made from vinyl compounds, especially PVC.
2. (chemistry) The univalent group CH₂=CH–.
3. Gramophone records, as opposed to CDs or digital recordings.

Word family

• vinylic
• divinylbenzene
• bivinyl
• polyvinyl
• vinylacetylene
• vinylate
• vinylation
• vinylbenzene

Related words

• wine
• ethyl

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 i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press