: gland
adenocarcinoma
: adenoid
adenovirus

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Greek aden-, adḗn "gland" (of uncertain origin) + New Latin -o- -o-

Note: Greek adḗn "gland" is traditionally compared with Old Norse økkr "lump, tumor, swelling" (going back to *engʷo-) and Latin inguen "swelling on the groin, groin." However, adḗn, if it reflects Indo-European *n̥gw-ēn, would seem to come from a vowel-initial root *engw-, which violates a generally accepted constraint on vowel-initial roots in Indo-European; on the other hand, if the root were laryngeal-initial, the form *h1ngw- should have yielded *end- in Greek, this allegedly being the regular outcome of the sequence laryngeal/resonant/stop. Hence adḗn may be without Indo-European congeners.

Dictionary Entries Near adeno-

Cite this Entry

“Adeno-.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adeno-. Accessed 6 Oct. 2024.

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