Etymology

Explanatory Notes
for the Medical Dictionary
Etymology

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ETYMOLOGY
Etymologies showing the origin of particular words are given in this dictionary only for some abbreviations and acronyms and for all eponyms.

If an entry for an abbreviation is followed by the expansion from which it is derived, no etymology is given. However, if the abbreviation is derived from a phrase in a foreign language or in English that is not mentioned elsewhere in the entry, that phrase and its language of origin (if other than English) is given in square brackets following the functional label:

IFN abbreviation interferon

bid abbreviation Latin bis in die twice a day

Words derived from the names of persons are called eponyms. Eponymous entries in this dictionary are followed by a short biographical sketch of the person or a brief account of the legendary, mythical, or fictional figure from whose name the term is derived:

Pas.teur effect . . . noun . . .
Pasteur, Louis (1822-1895), French chemist and bacteriologist. Pasteur made contributions that rank with the greatest in modern science. His achievements include ...

Doubtful dates are followed by a question mark, and approximate dates are preceded by ca (circa). In some instances only the years of principal activity are given, preceded by the abbreviation fl (flourished):

sap.phic . . . adjective or noun
. . . Sap.pho ... (flourished circa 610 BC-circa 580 BC), Greek lyric poet ...

If a series of main entries is derived from the name of one person, the paragraph usually follows the first entry. The dictionary user who turns, for example, to pasteurella, pasteurellosis, pasteurization, pasteurize, or Pasteur treatment and seeks biographical information is expected to glance back to the first entry in the sequence, Pasteur effect.

If an eponym is compounded from the names of two or more individuals, several sketches may follow a single entry either as separate paragraphs (as at Watson-Crick) or incorporated into a single paragraph (as at Guillain-Barré syndrome).

If an eponymous entry is defined by a synonymous cross-reference to the entry where a biographical paragraph appears, no other cross-reference is made. However, if the definition of an eponymous entry contains no clue as to the location of the paragraph, the name of the individual is given following the entry and a directional cross-reference is made to the appropriate entry:

gland of Bartholin . . . noun : BARTHOLIN'S GLAND

gland of Bow.man . . . noun : any of the tubular and often branched glands occurring beneath the olfactory epithelium of the nose... W. Bowman -- see BOWMAN'S CAPSULE

A paragraph on C. T. Bartholin can be found at Bartholin's gland and one on William Bowman at Bowman's capsule.

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