Where does “neurosurgery” come from?
Neurosurgery combines Ancient Greek νεῦρον (nerve) from Proto-Indo-European snḗh₁wr̥ and Ancient Greek ἔργον (work), denoting surgical intervention on nervous tissue.
neurosurgery (English): The surgical discipline focused on treating those...
Definitions
- The surgical discipline focused on treating those...
Ancestry of “neurosurgery”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | surgery | A procedure involving major incisions to remove,... |
| 2 | Middle English | surgerie | surgery |
| 3 | Old French | surgerie | — |
| 4 | Latin | chīrurgia | a surgery |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | χειρουργία | working by hand, practice of a handicraft or art;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | χειρουργέω | to work with my hands; to do violence with my... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | χειρουργός | craftsman; surgeon |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | -ουργός | worker, maker; work; worker, maker, craftsman |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | ἔργον | deed, doing, action; labour, work, task;... |
| 10 | Proto-Hellenic | wérgon | work |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | wérǵom | work |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | werǵ- | to make |