Investigating the Origins of Ethereum Terminology

This article is a translated version of my original post on Qiita. Original (Japanese): https://qiita.com/segur/items/3b64f78f277fbee36309

Investigating the Origins of Ethereum Terminology

Hello, I’m Segyu, and I love exploring word origins!

When I first started learning about Ethereum, I encountered several specialized terms that were unfamiliar to me. In this article, I’ve researched the origins of these terms!

Please note that this research was undertaken as a hobbyist and is not exhaustive. The interpretations shared here might vary, and you are encouraged to read with that understanding.

Ethereum

Ethereum is the name of a blockchain platform.

In my research, I found the following on the English Wikipedia:

Buterin chose the name Ethereum after browsing a list of elements from science fiction on Wikipedia. He stated, "I immediately realized that I liked it better than all of the other alternatives that I had seen; I suppose it was the fact that it sounded nice and it had the word 'ether', referring to the hypothetical invisible medium that permeates the universe and allows light to travel." Buterin wanted his platform to be the underlying and imperceptible medium for the applications running on top of it.

Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, was drawn to the pleasant sound and the word "ether" when browsing a Wikipedia article about elements in science fiction. Ether is an invisible substance thought to fill the universe. Buterin wanted his platform to be like that—fundamental and invisible to the applications built on it.

flowchart TD
    Ethereum("Ethereum : The Ethereum Platform")
    ether("ether : [English] Ether")
    aether("aether : [Latin] Ether")
    ium("ium : [Latin] Substance")
    αἰθήρ("αἰθήρ : [Ancient Greek] Ether")
    αἴθω("αἴθω : [Ancient Greek] To ignite")
    heydh("h₂eydʰ : [Proto-Indo-European] Fire")

    Ethereum -.- ether
    Ethereum -.- ium
    ether -.- aether -.- αἰθήρ
    αἰθήρ -.- αἴθω -.- heydh

NFT

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token.

flowchart TD
    NFT("NFT: Abbreviation of non-fungible token")
    NonFungibleToken("non-fungible token: Non-fungible token")
    NonFungible("non-fungible: Non-fungible")
    non("non: [English] Non-")
    fungible("fungible: [English] Fungible")
    token("token: [English] Marker")

    NFT -.- NonFungibleToken
    NonFungibleToken -.- NonFungible
    NonFungibleToken -.- token

    NonFungible -.- non
    NonFungible -.- fungible

Let's explore the origins of fungible and token further!

token

The 'T' in NFT stands for token.

In Japanese, a token might be thought of as something like a coupon or voucher, but literally, it means "marker."

For instance, a 120 yen stamp purchased at the post office is a "marker" that validates pre-payment for 120 yen, making it a type of token.

Here's how the etymology traces back:

flowchart TD
    token("token : [English] Marker")
    taken("taken : [Middle English] Marker")
    tācn("tācn : [Old English] Marker")
    taikn("taikn : [West Germanic] To teach")
    taikną("taikną : [Proto-Germanic] To teach")
    deyḱ("deyḱ : [Proto-Indo-European] To show, teach")

    token -.- taken -.- tācn -.- taikn -.- taikną -.- deyḱ

Ultimately, deyḱ, which is the same root as teach, ties back to the etymology!

fungible token

The 'F' in NFT stands for fungible.

Fungible means "interchangeable." Thus, fungible token means "an interchangeable marker."

For example, swapping a 120 yen stamp owned by Person A with another 120 yen stamp owned by Person B doesn't change its validity as a pre-payment of 120 yen. Therefore, a 120 yen stamp is a type of fungible token.

flowchart TD
    fungible("fungible: [English] Interchangeable")
    fungibilis("fungibilis: [Medieval Latin] Interchangeable")

    fungible -.- fungibilis
    fungibilis -.- fungor
    fungibilis -.- iblis

non-fungible token

Non-fungible means "non-interchangeable." Hence, a non-fungible token is "a non-interchangeable marker."

For instance, swapping a "one-of-a-kind designed 120 yen stamp" owned by Person A with a "standard 120 yen stamp" owned by Person B would cause Person A to lose the unique design value. This type of token is referred to as a non-fungible token.

GAS

GAS refers to transaction fees within Ethereum.

Here is what I found in the official documentation:

Gas is essential to the Ethereum network. It is the fuel that allows it to operate, in the same way that a car needs gasoline to run.

Just as cars need gasoline to run, GAS is the essential fuel for operating Ethereum. Although gas can mean "gas" in English, here it refers to the abbreviation of "gasoline."

flowchart TD
    GAS("GAS: [Ethereum Term] Fee")
    gas("gas: [American English] Fuel, short for gasoline")
    gasoline("gasoline: [American English] Gasoline")
    Gazeline("Gazeline : Lighting oil brand 'Gazeline'")
    Cazeline("Cazeline : Lighting oil brand 'Cazeline'")
    Cassell("Cassell: Seller of Cazeline")
    eline("eline: [English] Oil")
    ἔλαιον("ἔλαιον: [Ancient Greek] Olive Oil")
    ἐλαία("ἐλαία: [Ancient Greek] Olive")

    GAS -.- gas -.- gasoline -.- Gazeline -.- Cazeline

    Cazeline -.- Cassell

    Cazeline -.- eline -.- ἔλαιον -.- ἐλαία

The origins of gasoline are debated, but according to English Wikipedia, it likely stems from the Gazeline brand of oil. The name Gazeline was a play on the Cazeline brand, which itself was named for Cassell, its seller.

Tracing eline back leads to olive oil!

Conclusion

While I've also noted terms like Mint and Smart Contract, I’ll leave it here for now!

I referenced the following pages while writing this article. Thank you for the valuable information!