Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “abscess” come from?

Abscess comes from Latin abscessus, the past participle of abscedo meaning "to go away," from ab meaning "away" combined with cedo meaning "to go," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂epó meaning "off" or "away."

abscess (English): A cavity caused by tissue destruction, usually...

Definitions

  1. A cavity caused by tissue destruction, usually...

Ancestry of “abscess”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinabscessusdeparted; withdrawn; retreated
2Latinabsaway from; from; away
3Proto-Albanianaps—
4LatinApis—
5Ancient GreekἌπις—
6Copticϩⲁⲡⲉ—
7Egyptianḥp—

Words derived from “abscess”

  • abscessed
  • abscessation
  • microabscess
  • microabscessation
Every word from Egyptian ḥp →