Where does “surgically” come from?
Surgically derives from English surgical plus the adverbial suffix -ly, which comes from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, and Proto-Germanic -līkaz, all meaning "like" or "having the form of," ultimately tracing through Ancient Greek χειρουργία (hand work) and ἔργον (work) to Proto-Indo-European ḱóm (together).
surgically (English): Relating to surgery; by means of surgery
Definitions
- Relating to surgery; by means of surgery
Ancestry of “surgically”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | surgical | Of, relating to, used in, or resulting from... |
| 2 | Middle English | cirurgical | surgical |
| 3 | Middle French | cirurgical | — |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | cirurgicalis | — |
| 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 |