aorta

noun

aor·​ta ā-ˈȯr-tə How to pronounce aorta (audio)
plural aortas or aortae ā-ˈȯr-tē How to pronounce aorta (audio)
: the great arterial trunk that carries blood from the heart to be distributed by branch arteries through the body see heart illustration
aortic adjective

Examples of aorta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The aortic valve is between the left ventricle and the aorta (the main artery carrying oxygen-rich blood away from the heart to the body). Colleen Doherty, Verywell Health, 30 Sep. 2024 He was deemed too weak to have a surgical aorta valve replacement and died in his sleep. Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2024 Take hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, a primarily genetic condition that results in a thickening of the walls of the heart—specifically its left ventricle, which is the chamber that pumps blood out of the heart and into the aorta. Lori Oliwenstein, TIME, 12 Sep. 2024 This propulsive autofiction novel is set in the ICU, where our narrator spends 11 days for an injury to his aorta that mystifies his doctors and terrifies his partner (they were set up by colleagues as the only two gay poets in Iowa City). Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 8 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for aorta 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aorta.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of aorta was in 1543

Dictionary Entries Near aorta

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

aorta

noun
aor·​ta ā-ˈȯrt-ə How to pronounce aorta (audio)
plural aortas or aortae -ˈȯrt-ē How to pronounce aorta (audio)
: the main artery that carries blood from the heart to branch arteries by which it is carried throughout the body
aortic adjective

Medical Definition

aorta

noun
aor·​ta ā-ˈȯrt-ə How to pronounce aorta (audio)
plural aortas or aortae -ē How to pronounce aorta (audio)
: the large arterial trunk that carries blood from the heart to be distributed by branch arteries through the body

More from Merriam-Webster on aorta

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