-ia | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

80 entries found.

abstract noun suffix of quality or rank, from Latin -cia, -tia, from Greek -kia, -tia, from abstract ending -ia (see -ia) + stem ending -c- or -t-. The native correspondents are -ship, -hood.

amastia (n.)

"complete failure of one or both breasts, including the nipple, to develop," 1878, medical Latin, from German amastia (1841), from Greek amastos "without breasts," from privative prefix a- "not, without" (see a- (3)) + mastos "breast" (see masto-) + abstract noun ending -ia.

amentia (n.)

"mental deficiency," late 14c., from Latin amentia "madness," from amentem "mad," from a for ab "away from" (see a- (2)) + mentem "mind" (from PIE root *men- (1) "to think") + abstract noun ending -ia.

Wisteria (n.)

genus of woody vines, 1819, formed by Thomas Nuttall, English botanist, in recognition of American anatomist Caspar Wistar (1761-1818) of Philadelphia + abstract noun ending -ia. The -e- apparently is a misprint. The Wistar Institute was founded in 1892 by his great-nephew and named for him.

Poinsettia (n.)

type of much-cultivated American plant conspicuous for its large scarlet floral leaves, from the genus name (1836), Modern Latin, in recognition of Joel R. Poinsett (1779-1851), U.S. ambassador to Mexico, who is said to have brought the plant to the attention of botanists in 1828, + abstract noun ending -ia.

dysplasia (n.)

"abnormal growth or development of tissue, cells, etc.," 1935, Modern Latin, from dys- + -plasia, from Greek plasis "molding, conformation," from plassein "to mold" (originally "to spread thin," from PIE root *pele- (2) "flat; to spread") + abstract noun ending -ia. Related: Dysplastic.

catatonia (n.)

disturbed mental state involving immobility or abnormality of movement and behavior, 1888, from medical Latin catatonia; replacing katatonia (1880s), which was formed directly from Greek kata "down" (see cata-) + tonos "tone" (from PIE root *ten- "to stretch") + abstract noun ending -ia.

anosmia (n.)

"loss of sense of smell," 1811, Modern Latin, from Greek an- "not, without" (see an- (1)) + osmē "smell" (Doric odmē), from *odsme, from PIE root *hed- "to smell" (see odor) + abstract noun ending -ia.

apraxia (n.)

"loss of the knowledge of the uses of things," 1877, medical Latin, from German apraxie, coined 1871 by German philologist and philosopher Heymann Steinthal (1823-1899), from Greek apraxia "inaction," from a- "not, without" (see a- (3)) + praxis "a doing, action, business" (see praxis) + abstract noun ending -ia.

euthanasia (n.)

1640s, "a gentle and easy death," from Greek euthanasia "an easy or happy death," from eu- "good" (see eu-) + thanatos "death" (see thanatology) + abstract noun ending -ia. Slightly earlier in Englished form euthanasy (1630s). Sense of "legally sanctioned mercy killing" is recorded in English by 1869.

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