Etymology Flashcards
Etymology of selected words from each module.
Ophthalm-
Language of origin?
Greek
(From Mod. 4)
cor-
core-
Etymology?
From “Kore”, Greek for “young girl” or “doll”
Because if you look into the pupil, you could see a small reflection of yourself or “doll”
(From Mod. 4)
pupill-
Etymology?
From “pupilla”, Latin for “doll”
same reasoning as cor- and core- (From Mod. 4)
ir-
irid-
Etymology?
Iris has lots of colour -> kind of like rainbow
Thus named after the ancient goddess of rainbows, Iris
(From Mod. 4)
cili-
ciliar-
Etymology?
Latin, “cilium” -> eyelid
(From Mod. 4)
cycl-
Etymology?
Greek, “kyklos” -> circle
(From Mod. 4)
kerat-
cerat-
cornu-
corne-
Etymology?
kerat- and cerat- are Greek
cornu- and corne- are Latin
All four mean horn; reasoning is because horns are hard and curved. The cornea is also hard and curved. Also see Mod. 7, where they actually mean horn.
(From Mod. 4)
scler-
Etymology?
Greek, “skleros” meaning “hard”
compare with “sclerosis”, which is hardening of a structure (From Mod. 4)
ot-
Etymology?
Greek, “ous” meaning ear
(From Mod. 4)
aur-
Etymology?
Latin, “auris” meaning ear
(From Mod. 4)
myring-
Etymology?
Latin, “membrane of a drum”
(From Mod. 4)
tympanum-
Etymology?
Greek
In Greek mythology, the goddess Cybele is always associated with a drum, who is always depicted with having a tympanum (which is also a drum)
(From Mod. 4)
Middle ear parts:
incud-
malle-
stapedi-
The bones of the middle ear looked like a blacksmith’s shop. Calls back to Hephaestus (Greek)/Vulcan (Roman), the god of fire and metal working.
All 3 are Latin terms
- malleus -> hammer
- incus -> anvil
- stapes -> stirrup
One should note that stapes is a newer term; stirrups were not invented during antiquity
(From Mod. 4)
Labyrinth-
Greek, “labyrinthos”
Comes from the Minotaur legend -> see notes
(From Mod. 4)
bi-
vit-
Etymology?
Greek (bi-)
Latin (vit-)
(From Mod. 4)
hom-
homin-
Etymology?
Latin, “homo”
(which contrary to the meaning means “man”)
(From Mod. 4)
anthrop-
Etymology
Greek, “anthropos”
Means person
(From Mod. 4)
iatr-
- iatry
- iatrics
Etymology?
Greek, “iatros” meaning “physician”
(From Mod. 4)
hygien-
Etymology?
Greek, meaning “health”
Comes from the Greek goddess Hygeia, daughter of Aslepius. The symbol assosiated with her is a flat bowl with a snake eating out of it -> this symbol of snake + bowl is called the Bowl of Hygeia, and is commonly associated with pharmacists and pharmacologists
(From Mod. 4)
-centesis
Etymology/origin?
The specific procedure refers to a really long needle to extract fluid -> “kentron”, which is a Greek word meaning “a goad”
A goad is a long sharp stick used to poke oxen in farming; this can have obvious parallels to the long needle used in centesis.
(From Mod. 4)
- ectopy
- ectopia
Etymology?
ec- -> “out”
top- -> “place”
so, they mean “out of place”
(From Mod. 4)
-ptosis
Etymology?
Greek, “pipto” meaning “to fall”
This is because prolapse is referring to an organ that “falls” out of place
(From Mod. 4)
- sepsis
- septic
Greek, “sepo” meaning “to rot”
(From Mod. 4)
encephalon
Etymology?
Greek; recall the previously learned material of prefixes and roots:
en-cephal-on
Literall “the thing inside (en-) the head (cephal-)”
(From Mod. 5)