aorta

noun

aor·​ta ā-ˈȯr-tə 

plural aortas or aortae ā-ˈȯr-tē 

: the great arterial trunk that carries blood from the heart to be distributed by branch arteries through the body see heart illustration

aortic

ā-ˈȯr-tik 

adjective

Examples of aorta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly July 11 from a life-threatening condition caused by a tear in his aorta, the body's main artery. — Michael Smith, USA Today, 18 July 2026

The District of Columbia’s medical examiner issued preliminary findings that Graham died from a tear in his aorta after suffering from cardiovascular disease. — Sophia Mandt, The Washington Examiner, 17 July 2026

That can lead to abnormalities in the heart and blood vessels that later result in a tear or dissection in the aorta. — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 15 July 2026

Graham died Saturday at the age of 71 of what was preliminarily diagnosed as a rupture of his aorta due to a hardening of his arteries, his office said. — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 14 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin, borrowed from Greek aortḗ "aorta, bronchial tubes (in plural aortaí), knapsack," nominal derivative from the stem of aeírein "to join, attach, harness," of uncertain origin

Note: The word appears earlier as Middle English aborchi, abhorti, adorte "aorta," comparable with Middle French aborthi and Medieval Latin adorti; these forms most likely reflect Latin translation of the Arabic versions of Greek medical texts. — The Greek medical term aortḗ belongs to a small set of forms based on aeírein that refer to both attachment and suspension, as áōrto "was hung" ("[máchaira]… pàr xípheos méga kouleón aeìn áōrto" - "[the knife]… was always hung beside the great sheath of his sword"—Iliad 3, 272), aortḗr "belt or strap for hanging a sword or satchel," and aórtēs "knapsack." Perhaps the aorta was pictured as an organ attached to and suspended from the heart in the way a scabbard is hung from a belt. Note that the verb aeírein displays two sets of meanings, that of harnessing and attachment (outside of nominal derivation almost always with the prefix syn- syn-) and of lifting or raising. Whether or not these should be regarded as two verbs of distinct origin or as semantic branches of the same verb is unclear. Though an Indo-European verb base *h₂u̯er- can be reconstructed from the Greek evidence, there appear to be no definitely comparable forms outside Greek. See also artery, meteor.

First Known Use

1543, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing aorta

• arch of the aorta

Rhymes for aorta

• porta
• sorta

Kids Definition

aorta

noun

aor·​ta ā-ˈȯrt-ə 

plural aortas or aortae -ˈȯrt-ē 

: the main artery that carries blood from the heart to branch arteries by which it is carried throughout the body

aortic

-ˈȯrt-ik 

adjective

Medical Definition

aorta

noun

aor·​ta ā-ˈȯrt-ə 

plural aortas or aortae -ē 

: the large arterial trunk that carries blood from the heart to be distributed by branch arteries through the body