'sialylated' ultimately derives from 'sialylate,' formed from 'sialic' (from New Latin/Greek) + the chemical suffixes '-yl' and '-ate'; 'sialic' comes from Greek 'sialon' meaning 'saliva.'

'sialylate' was coined in modern chemical nomenclature by combining 'sialic' (from New Latin/Greek) with the combining form '-yl' and the verb-forming suffix '-ate,' and the past/participle form 'sialylated' followed as the regular inflection.

Originally the root referred to 'saliva' (Greek 'sialon'), then to compounds derived from or found in saliva ('sialic'), and in modern biochemical usage it came to mean 'bearing sialic acid'; thus 'sialylated' now means 'having sialic acid attached.'