carcinogenic

Etymology

It is formed from English carcino- + -genic.^[2][3][4] Etymonline takes it as carcinogen with the suffix -ic.^[5] The OED compares French carcinogène, recorded before 1924, and the earlier English cancerogenic.^[2] The first element is taken from carcinoma,^[2] the English form of Latin carcinōma, from Ancient Greek καρκίνωμα (karkínōma, “cancer”), from καρκίνος (karkínos, “crab, cancer”).^[5][6] The noun carcinogen is older, from 1853.^[2][5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Causing cancer: 1916, in The Lancet.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1926.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The OED's definition covers both causing cancer and inducing the malignant transformation of cells,^[2] and the Shorter Oxford notes that strictly it refers to carcinoma rather than to cancer in general.^[4] The derived nouns carcinogenesis and carcinogenicity followed in the early and mid 20th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 1916 – causing cancer.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1926.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Causing or tending to cause cancer: Some of the dyes proved to be carcinogenic.^[3][7][2]

Word family

• anticarcinogenic
• carcinogenicity
• carcinogenesis
• noncarcinogenic

Related words

• carcinogen
• carcinoma
• cancer

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press