Psilocybin
/ˌsaɪləˈsaɪbɪn/noun
A naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms that is converted in the body into psilocin.
Did you know?Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann isolated and named psilocybin in 1958 after identifying it as the substance responsible for the effects of certain sacred mushrooms.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
psilós
“Bare, naked, or stripped; the source of the first part of the mushroom genus name.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kýbē
“Head; used in the botanical name Psilocybe to describe a mushroom with a bare or smooth cap.”
1821
New Latin
Psilocybe
“A mushroom genus name coined from Greek elements meaning approximately “bare-headed,” referring to the cap.”
1950s
English scientific usage
psilocybin
“A coined chemical name formed from Psilocybe with the chemical suffix -in.”
1958
Modern English
psilocybin
“The active psychedelic compound isolated from Psilocybe mushrooms by Albert Hofmann.”