from (hydr)oxy(l) + codeine. Developed 1916 in Germany; introduced in U.S. 1939.
Entries linking to oxycodone
codeine n.
"white crystalline alkaloid present in opium," 1838, codeina, from French codéine, coined, with chemical suffix -ine (2), from Greek kodeia "poppy head," related to koos "prison," literally "hollow place;" kodon "bell, mouth of a trumpet;" koilos "hollow, hollowed out, spacious, deep," all from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole." Modern form is from 1881.
OxyContin
brand name of an oxycodone compound marketed in U.S. from 1996. Second element from continuous (i.e. "time-released").