About Medical Words and Their Origins

Abstract

Every medical word comes from somewhere, or someone, and few originated in the English language. Most of today’s medical terms trace their origins to ancient Greek and Latin. Only a few come from modern European or Asian languages. Words, even those we use in the clinic, have personalities. Some medical words, such as murmur, seem pleasant, almost euphonious; others such as grippe and scabies are ugly. Some medical words have status: Expectorate is more refined than spitting. This chapter presents an overview of medical word origins and how some of today’s medical terms began several millennia ago.