Origin of the Element Oxygen: A Linguistic and Scientific History
The element oxygen doesn't come from any language. It's a natural element, and its name comes from a combination of Greek words:
* ὀξύς (oxys) meaning "acid"
* γενής (genēs) meaning "forming" or "producing"
The name was coined by Antoine Lavoisier in 1777 because he believed oxygen was a component of all acids. While this theory was later proven incorrect, the name stuck!