medical | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

detergent (n.)

"detergent substance," 1670s, from detergent (adj.). Originally a medical term; application to "chemical cleansing product" is by 1932.

histo-

medical word-forming element, from Greek histos "warp, web," literally "anything set upright," from histasthai "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm." Taken by 19c. medical writers as the best Greek root from which to form terminology for "tissue, structural element of the animal body."

elytro-

word-forming element used for "vagina" in medical terms, from Greek elytron, literally "sheath" (see elytra). Related: Elytral.

vena cava (n.)

Medical Latin, from Latin vena "vein" (see vein) + cava, from cavus "hollow" (from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole").

infarct (n.)

substance of an infarction, 1873, from medical Latin infarctus (variant of infartus), past participle of infarcire "to stuff into" (see infarction).

laryngitis (n.)

"inflammation of the larynx," 1818, Medical Latin, from combining form of larynx (q.v.) + -itis "inflammation." Related: Laryngitic (1847).

medevac

"military helicopter for taking wounded soldiers to a hospital," 1966, U.S. military, formed from elements of medical evacuation.

tarsal (adj.)

"of or pertaining to the ankle or instep," 1817, from tarsus (n.) + -al (1), or from medical Latin tarsalis.

CAT

1975, medical acronym for computerized axial tomography or something like it. Related: CAT scan.

anuria (n.)

"absence of urination," 1838, medical Latin, from Greek an- "not, without" (see an- (1)) + ouron "urine" (see urine) + abstract noun ending -ia.

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