Arecoline
/ˌær.ɪˈkoʊ.liːn/noun
A toxic alkaloid found in betel nut, used as a stimulant and parasiticide.
Did you know?Arecoline was named from the areca palm, whose seeds have been chewed ceremonially for centuries across South and Southeast Asia, where betel use carried social, ritual, and sometimes intoxicating power.
Etymological Timeline
19th Century
English
arecoline
“A newly coined chemical name for the principal alkaloid of areca nut.”
19th Century
French/Latinized scientific
areca
“The areca palm, especially its seed or nut used in betel chewing.”
16th Century
Portuguese
areca
“The areca palm, borrowed from Asian languages during the age of exploration.”
Sanskrit
Sanskrit
ārikā / arekā
“The areca palm or its nut, the seed of the betel-chewing ritual.”
Proto-Austronesian
PAN
*qaReca
“Reconstructed ancestral form for the areca palm/fruit in Austronesian languages.”