"steroid isolated from the adrenal cortex," 1941, from cortico-, combining form of Latin cortex (genitive corticis) "bark of a tree," in modern anatomy applied to enveloping parts or surfaces (see corium).
synthetic steroid, 1955, probably with ending from cortisone + elements of pregnadiene, from pregnane, name of the compound from which pregnancy hormones were derived, from the Latin stem of pregnancy, + diene "unsaturated hydrocarbon containing two double bonds between carbon atoms," from di- + -ene.
"steroid hormone found in the adrenal cortex," manufactured synthetically as an anti-inflammatory, 1949, coined by its discoverer, Dr. Edward C. Kendall, from a shortening of its chemical name, 17-hydroxy-11 dehydrocorticosterone, which is ultimately from Latin corticis (genitive of cortex; see cortical) and so called because it was obtained from the "external covering" of adrenal glands. Originally called Compound E (1936).
female steroid sex hormone which prepares the uterus for child-bearing, 1935, from German Progesteron, from progestin (from which substance it was obtained), which had been coined 1930 from pro (see pro-) + Latin gestare, literally "to carry about" (see gestation), on notion of "substance which favors gestation." Also see -one.
