*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of oxy-

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-der.? Ancient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s)bor. English oxy- Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
prefix

Sharp, keen, acute, pungent, acid

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-der.? Ancient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s)bor. English oxy- Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
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        "3": "grc:ὀξῠ́ς<t:sharp>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-der.?\nAncient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s)bor.\nEnglish oxy-\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"sharp\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"sharp\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂eḱ-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"ὀξῠ́ς\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"oxy-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"oxy-\">\nBorrowed from Ancient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp”)."
    },
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      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-der.?\nAncient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s)bor.\nEnglish oxy-\nBorrowed from Ancient Greek ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp”)."
    }
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      "*h₂eḱ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂eḱ-#Proto-Indo-European:_sharp"
    ],
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      "ὀξύς#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
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      "ὀξύς#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
prefix

Concerning oxygen

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Reduced from oxygen which in turn is from French oxygène, from Ancient Greek ὀξύς (oxús).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "3": "oxygène"
      },
      "expansion": "French oxygène"
    },
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for oxy- →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-b3h5LQ