Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dissect” come from?

Dissect comes from Latin dissectus, the past participle of dissecare, from the prefix dis- meaning "apart" and a root from Proto-Indo-European sek- meaning "to cut" and dwóh₁ meaning "two."

dissect (English): To study an animal's anatomy by cutting it apart;...

Definitions

  1. To study an animal's anatomy by cutting it apart;...

Ancestry of “dissect”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latindissectusdissected
2Latindissecāre—
3Latinsecāre—
4Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever

Words derived from “dissect”

  • dissector
  • microdissect
  • microdissector
  • dissecter
  • dissectable
  • dissectability
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek- →