lactose
/ˈlæktəʊs/
noun
Origin
Latin
lac — milk
Overview
Meaning Now
- A white, crystalline disaccharide sugar found in milk, composed of glucose and galactose subunits.
Literal older meaning
milk sugar
Language path
Latin → English
Earliest form
lactose
Earliest period
19th century
Journey
The term was coined in the early 19th century as biochemistry began to identify specific organic compounds in biological substances. The suffix '-ose' was systematically adopted by chemists of that era to denote carbohydrates or sugars.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*glaǵ-
“milk”
Reconstructed base form
- Latin
lac, lactis
“milk”
- 19th century French
lactose
“milk sugar”
Coined by adding the chemical suffix -ose
Connections
Word parts
lact-
root
milk
-ose
suffix
chemical suffix for sugars
Related across languages
Italian
latte
milk
French
lait
milk
Spanish
leche
milk
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Related to lactose
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.