Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “anorexia” come from?

Anorexia comes from Ancient Greek ἀνορεξία, composed of the negation prefix ἀν- and a root from Proto-Indo-European sem-, meaning lack of appetite.

anorexia (English): Loss of appetite, especially as a result of...

Definitions

  1. Loss of appetite, especially as a result of...

Ancestry of “anorexia”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekἀνορεξία—
2Ancient Greekἀ-The alpha privativum, used to make words that...
3Proto-Hellenichə-same; together
4Proto-Indo-Europeansm̥-one; with, together
5Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

Words derived from “anorexia”

  • anorexigenic
  • bulimarexia
  • anorexiant
  • antianorexia
  • bulimarexic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem- →