Online Etymology Dictionary

chemist: 1560s, "alchemist," chymist, from Fr. chimiste, from Mod.L. chimista, reduced from alchimista (see alchemy). Modern spelling is from c.1790. Meaning "chemical scientist" is from 1626; meaning "dealer in medicinal drugs" (mostly in England) is from 1745.
acetylene: 1864, coined by Fr. chemist Marcelin-Pierre-Eugène Berthelot (1823-1907) from acetyl (coined from acetic in 1839 by Ger. chemist Justus von Liebig) + chemical ending -ene.
iodine: 1814, formed by British chemist Sir Humphry Davy from Fr. iode "iodine," coined 1812 by Fr. chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac from Gk. ioeides "violet-colored," from ion "violet" + eidos "appearance" (see -oid). So called from the color of the vapor given off when the crystals are heated.
Boyle's law: named for Irish-born chemist and physicist Robert Boyle (1627-1691), who first published it in 1662.
macadamia: "Australian evergreen tree," 1904, from Mod.L. (1858), named for Scot.-born chemist Dr. John Macadam (1827-65), secretary of the Victoria Philosophical Institute, Australia.
uranium: rare metallic element, 1797, named 1789 in Mod.L. by its discoverer, Ger. chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817), for the recently found planet Uranus (q.v.).
thorium: rare metallic element, 1832, from Mod.L., named 1828-9 by its discoverer, Swed. chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) in honor of the Scand. god Thor (q.v.).
ytterbium: metallic rare-earth element, 1879, coined in Mod.L. by Swed. chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander (1797-1858) from Ytterby, name of a town in Sweden where it was discovered.
yttrium: metallic rare-earth element, 1866, coined in Mod.L. by Swed. chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander (1797-1858) from Ytterby, name of a town in Sweden where it was discovered.
strontium: light metallic element, 1808, coined in Mod.L. by Eng. chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) from Strontian, name of a parish in Argyllshire, Scotland, the site of lead mines where strontium was first found.
saccharin: "white crystalline compound used as a sugar substitute," 1885, from Ger., coined by chemist Fahlberg, 1879, from L. saccharon (see saccharine).
Nobel: 1900, in ref. to five prizes (in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace) established in the will of Alfred Nobel (1833-96), Swed. chemist and engineer, inventor of dynamite. A sixth prize, in economics, was added in 1969.
lithium: silver-white metallic element, 1818, coined in Mod.L. by Swed. chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) from Gk. lithos "stone," from its mineral origin and to distinguish it from two previously known alkalis of vegetable origin.
milk of magnesia: 1880, proprietary name for white suspension of magnesium hydroxide in water, taken as an antacid, invented by U.S. chemist Charles Henry Phillips. Herbal or culinary preparations resembling milk had been similarly named (e.g. milk of almond) since c.1430.
glycerin: 1838, from Fr. glycérine, coined by Fr. chemist Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889), from Gk. glykeros "sweet." So called for its taste.
deuterium: 1933, coined by U.S. chemist Harold C. Urey, with Mod.L. ending, from Gk. deuterion, neut. of deuterios "having second place."
xenon: 1898, from Gk. neut. of xenos "foreign, strange," coined by its discoverer, Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay (1852-1916); cf. krypton.
bromine: nonmetallic element, 1827, from Fr. brome, coined by its discoverer, Fr. chemist Antoine Jérôme Balard (1802-1876) from Gk. bromos "stench."
iridium: 1804, Mod.L., coined by its discoverer, Eng. chemist Smithson Tennant (1761-1815) from Gk. iris (gen. iridos) "rainbow;" so called for the varying color of its compounds.
lanthanum: "metallic rare earth element," 1841, coined by Swedish chemist and mineralogist Carl Gustav Mosander (1797-1858), who discovered it in 1839, from Gk. lanthanein "to lie hidden, escape notice," because the element was "concealed" in rare minerals.
adenine: crystaline base, 1885, coined by Ger. physiologist/chemist Albrecht Kossel (1853-1927) from Gk. aden- "gland" + chem. suffix -ine. So called because it was derived from the pancreas.
pasteurize: 1881, after Louis Pasteur (1822-95), Fr. chemist and bacteriologist, who invented the process of heating food, milk, wine, etc., to kill most of the micro-organisms in it; distinguished from sterilization, which involves killing all of them.
helium: 1868, coined from Gk. helios "sun" (see sol), because the element was observed in the solar spectrum during the eclipse of Aug. 18, 1868, by Eng. astronomer Sir Joseph N. Lockyer (1836-1920) and Eng. chemist Sir Edward Frankland (1825-99). It was not actually obtained until 1895.
dynamite: 1867, from Sw. dynamit, coined 1867 by its inventor, Sw. chemist Alfred Nobel (1833-96), from Gk. dynamis "power." Fig. sense of "something potentially dangerous" is from 1922.
tyrosine: amino acid, 1857, coined 1846 by Ger. chemist Baron von Justus Liebig (1802-73) from Gk. tyros "cheese" + chemical suffix -ine. So called because it was easily obtained from cheese.
artistry: "artistic ability," 1868, from artist as chemistry from chemist, etc. Said to have been coined by Browning.
vanadium: rare metallic element, 1833, named 1830 by Swed. chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström (1787-1845), from O.N. Vanadis, one of the names of the Norse goddess Freyja (see Freya).
chrome: 1800, from Fr., coined 1797 by Fr. chemist Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin (1763-1829), from Gk. khroma "color," because it makes colorful compounds. Originally the name given to the metal chromium; as a short form of chromium plating it dates from 1937.
formaldehyde: 1872, formed from form(ic acid) + aldehyde, coined by Ger. chemist Justus von Liebig (1803-73), abbreviation of al(cohol) dehyd(rogenatum) "dehydrogenated alcohol."
isotope: 1913, introduced by British chemist Frederick Soddy (1877-1956) on suggestion of Margaret Todd, from Gk. isos "equal" + topos "place;" so called because despite the different atomic weights, the various forms of an element occupy the same place on the periodic table.
caffeine: 1830, from Ger. Kaffein, coined by chemist F.F. Runge (1795-1867) after Mod.L. coffea "coffee" + chemical suffix -ine.
color blindness: 1844, replacing Daltonism (after Eng. chemist John Dalton, 1766-1844, who published a description of it in 1794); in fig, use, with ref. to race or ethnicity, attested from 1866, Amer.Eng. Related: color blind.
lactose: sugar from milk, 1858, from Fr., coined by Fr. chemist Marcelin-Pierre-Eugène Berthelot (1827-1907) from L. lac "milk" (see lactation) + suffix -ose.
halogen: 1842, from Swedish, coined by Swed. chemist Baron Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) from Gk. hals (gen. halos) "salt" + -gen "to produce;" so called because a salt is formed in reactions involving these elements.
electrode: 1834, coined by Eng. physicist and chemist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) from electro- (see electric) + Gk. hodos "way" (see cede).
paraffin: 1838, from Ger. Paraffin, coined c.1830 by Ger. chemist Karl von Reichenbach (1788-1869) from L. parum "not very, too little" + affinis "associated with." So called because paraffin is chemically not closely related to other substances.
cellophane: 1912 trademark name for product made from regenerated cellulose, coined by the inventor, Swiss chemist Jacques E. Brandenberger (1872-1954), probably from cell(ulose) + o + phane, from Gk. phainein "to appear" (see phantasm).
osmium: metallic element, 1803, coined in Mod.L. by its discoverer, Eng. chemist Smithson Tennant (1761-1815) from Gk. osme "smell, odor" (cognate with L. odor, see odor). So called for the strong smell of its oxide.
ketone: 1851, "group of chemicals containing CO," from Ger. keton, coined in 1848 by Ger. chemist Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853) from Ger. Aketon, from Fr. acétone (see acetone).
ozone: 1840, from Ger. Ozon, coined in 1840 by Ger. chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein (1799-1868) from Gk. ozon, neut. prp. of ozein "to smell." So called for its pungent odor.
sodium: metallic alkaline element, 1807, coined by Eng. chemist Humphry Davy from soda; so called because the element was isolated from caustic soda (sodium hydroxide). The chemical symbol Na is from Natrium.
protein: 1844, from Fr. protéine, coined 1838 by Du. chemist Gerhard Johan Mulder (1802-1880), perhaps on suggestion of Berzelius, from Gk. proteios "the first quality," from protos "first." Originally a theoretical substance thought to be essential to life, the modern use is from Ger. Protein, borrowed in Eng. 1907.
anode: 1834, coined from Gk. anodos "way up," from ana "up" + hodos "way" (see cede). Proposed by the Rev. William Whewell (1794–1866), Eng. polymath, and published by Eng. chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867). So called from the path the electrical current was thought to take. Anodize is recorded from 1931.
-amide: also amide, in chemical use, 1850, denoting a compound obtained by replacing one hydrogen atom in ammonia with an element or radical, from Fr. amide, from am(monia) + -ide; coined by Fr. chemist Charles-Adolphe Wurtz (1817-1884).
stearin: white crystalline compound found in animal and vegetable fats, 1817, from Fr. stéarine, coined by Fr. chemist Marie-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889) from Gk. stear (gen. steatos) "tallow, fat." Stearic acid (1831) is a partial translation of Fr. acide stéarique.
cellulose: 1835, coined by Fr. chemist Anselme Payen (1795-1871) from noun use of adj. cellulose "consisting of cells," coined 18c. from L. cellula (see celluloid) + -ose Fr. suffix forming nouns.
hydrate: 1802, "compound of water and another chemical," from Fr. hydrate, coined by Fr. chemist Joseph-Louis Proust (1754-1826) from Gk. hydr-, stem of hydor "water" (see water (n.1)). The verb is first attested 1850.
methyl: "univalent hydrocarbon radical," 1844, from Ger. methyl (1840) or Fr. méthyle, back-formation from Fr. méthylène, coined in Fr. 1835 from Gk. methy "wine" + hyle "wood." The word was introduced by Swed. chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848).
barium: 1808, Mod.L., from Gk. barys "heavy;" so called by its discoverer, Eng. chemist Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) because it was present in the mineral barytes "heavy spar," from Gk. barys "heavy" (see grave (adj.)).
potassium: 1807, coined by Eng. chemist Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829) from Mod.L. potassa, Latinized form of potash (q.v.). Davy first isolated it from potash. Symbol K is from L. kalium "potash."