- stethoscope
- 1820, from Fr. stéthoscope, coined 1819 by its inventor, Fr. physician René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laënnec (1781-1826) from Gk. stethos "chest, breast" + -scope. Gk. stethos is perhaps related to sternon (see sternum); it meant "front of the chest," and was only rarely used of a woman's breasts, but in Mod.Gk. it became the preferred polite term.