Etymology

From Latin arsenicum, from Ancient Greek ἀρσενικόν ‎(arsenikón, “yellow arsenic”) (influenced by ἀρσενικός ‎(arsenikós, “potent, virile”)), from Semitic (compare Classical Syriac ܙܪܢܝܟܐ ‎(zarnīḵā), Aramaic 𐡆𐡓𐡍𐡉𐡊𐡀 ‎(zarnīḵā)), from Middle Iranian *zarnīk (compare Persian زرنی ‎(zarnī, “arsenic”)), from Old Iranian *zarniya-ka- (compare Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬀 ‎(zaraniia-, “golden”), Old Persian 𐎭𐎼𐎴𐎡𐎹 ‎(daraniya-, “gold”), Sanskrit हिरण्य ‎(híraṇya, “gold”), Persian زر ‎(zar, “gold”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃i.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ar‧se‧ni‧cum