The Greek & Latin Roots of English (32 page)

58. Under a system of
primogeniture
, the __________ __________ inherits his parents’ property.

59. In order to display
valor
in a difficult situation, one must be __________ in spirit.

60. What is a
valetudinarian
? ____________________

61.
Maintain
entered into English through French. Can you figure out its Latin roots? __________

62. What are the two different meanings of
invalid?
 
________________________________________
 
________________________________________

63. In the following sentence, what is the meaning of the word
pathos?
“The pathos I felt when I heard her sing was overwhelming.” ____________________

64. What does a
pathogen
do? __________ __________

65. I am
senescent
, and now I am afraid that I am suffering from all the symptoms of __________________.

66. He was such an awful person that although he was dead, I could not say one good thing about him. What Latin adage was I ignoring? ______________________________

B. How Many Things Can You Break?

People and things can be broken in a number of ways. What are the current English meanings of the following words?

67. fragment      __________

68. fractious     __________

69. infraction    __________

70. frail              __________

71. fraction       __________

72. refract         __________

73. frangible     __________

74. fragile         __________

C. Watch Where You Throw That Thing
!

Sometimes a doctor will recommend an
injection
of a drug in order to relieve your symptoms or even to effect a cure.

jacio-jacere-jactum                   throw, heal

in compound form, jecere-jectum

D. Don't Confuse Me

In order to be a successful doctor, you will need to learn all these medical diagnoses and treatments. What are the following diseases, medical conditions, and treatments?

84. pericarditis        ____________________

85. neuropathy      ____________________

86. myalgia             ____________________

87. glossectomy    ____________________

Footnotes

1
. Note that most specialized medical terms are derived from Greek, rather than Latin, vocabulary. Almost all English compound forms derived from Greek that are used in medical terminology are learned borrowings.

2
. The endings -
osis
, -
itis
, -
oma
, and -
iasis
were used in ancient Greek to form nouns, but they have been arbitrarily assigned these meanings in modern medical practice.

3
. Learned borrowing from Greek: cf.
pathos
(πάθος) =
suffering
. In compound forms, used as a suffix =
disease
,
condition
. It is also used in names or systems of treating disease, e.g.,
osteopathy
.

HUMAN BIOLOGY
and
MEDICINE II

Mosaic from Hadrian's villa (Museo Capitolino, Rome)

When I reached the sanctuary, the god Asclepius bade me further to cover my head in rainy weather, wash myself without the aid of a servant, take exercise in the gymnasium, eat bread, cheese, celery and cabbage lettuce, drink lemon juice and milk, go for walks and not to omit to make sacrifice
.

AELIUS ARISTIDES (second-century CE Greek orator)

ADVANCED MEDICAL TRAINING

In the preceding chapter, we surveyed all the major organs of the human body as well as the variety of ailments that might afflict them; but for those who wish to continue their medical education, what follows is an overview of the major systems, or structures to which those organs belong.
¹
Once again, Greek and Latin roots provide the necessary language for labeling their various components and functions. Although many of these words have come into English unchanged, some of the words included in this chapter are learned borrowings. Indeed, ancient Greek and Roman physicians sometimes had an imperfect understanding not only of human anatomy, but of the functions of various organs and systemic processes.

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

The circulatory, or cardiovascular, system consists of the heart and blood vessels.

The arterial system got its name from the fact that the ancient Greeks believed that the arteries carried air.

aer
(ἀήρ) = air

THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

The respiratory system includes all those organs necessary for the taking in of oxygen and the giving off of carbon dioxide.

It's Not All in Your Head

The Greeks believed that the center of emotions and the home of the mind were in the diaphragm [phren (φρήν = diaphragm]. From this notion we derive frenzy, frenetic, phrenology, and schizophrenia. What are the current meanings of these words?

THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The digestive system includes all the organs necessary for taking in, breaking down, and absorbing food.

The intestine, or alimentary canal, is divided into two parts, the small and large intestines. The small intestine consists of: