nonalcoholic

the word 'nonalcoholic' is a modern english compound formed by directly adding the latin-derived negative prefix 'non-' to the existing adjective 'alcoholic'. the core component, 'alcohol', has a long journey, originating from the arabic 'al-kuḥl', which referred to a fine powder used as eyeliner and later, by alchemical extension, to any distilled essence. the suffix '-ic', of ancient greek and latin origin, is commonly used to form adjectives meaning 'of, pertaining to, or characterized by'. therefore, the literal construction 'not pertaining to alcohol' logically yields the modern meaning of a beverage or substance that lacks alcohol, created to explicitly distinguish such products in contexts like beverages, medicines, or cosmetics.

Structure: non (not) + alcoholic (containing alcohol) non: from latin 'non', meaning 'not'. a prefix indicating negation or absence. alcoholic: derived from 'alcohol' (from arabic 'al-kuḥl') + the suffix '-ic' (from latin '-icus', greek '-ikos', meaning 'pertaining to'). functions as an adjective-forming suffix.