noun, masculine/kɔ.lɛs.te.ʁɔl/
cholesterol (an essential component of mammalian cell membranes)
Related: anticholestérol, cholestérique
From cholestérine, from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “gall, bile”) + στερεός (stereós, “firm, solid”); coined in 1816 by Michel Eugène Chevreul. From originally being discovered by François Poulletier de la Salle in 1769, as a solid in gallstones.