Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “sphincter” come from?

sphincter (Middle French) comes from Late Latin sphincter, from Ancient Greek σφῐγκτήρ.

Ancestry of “sphincter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Late Latinsphincter—
2Ancient Greekσφῐγκτήρ—

Words derived from “sphincter”

  • sphincter
  • sphincterotomy
  • sphincteric
  • intersphincteric
  • rhabdosphincter
  • sphincteral
  • transphincteric
Every word from Ancient Greek σφῐγκτήρ →