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-ole or -ol

suff.

1. A usually heterocyclic chemical compound containing a five-membered ring: pyrrole.

2. A chemical compound, especially an ether, that does not contain hydroxyl: eucalyptol.

[Partly from French (from Latin oleum, oil; see OIL) and partly variant of -OL¹.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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