Etymology of The Name
The mineral mica was commonly used at that time for electrical insulation. Because the new product acted as a substitute “for mica”, Faber coined the name “Formica” This was in fact a preexisting word, the Latin for a genus of ant insects, but that meaning did not dilute its use as a trademark.
Read more about this topic: Formica (plastic)
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)