cardiac

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkɑːdɪæk/ (UK); /ˈkɑɹdiˌæk/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cardiacus, perhaps influenced by French cardiaque,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek καρδιακός (kardiakós, “of the heart”),^[2][3] from καρδία (kardía, “heart; upper opening of the stomach”) (see heart),^[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *ḱérd (“heart”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the heart: 1601, in Holland's translation of Pliny, in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster.^[2][6][7] The noun was known in Middle English, about 1440, for a vein associated with the heart, and for heart disease;^[2][6][5] these senses dropped out of use by the 16th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Of medicines supposed to invigorate the heart it is from 1661,^[6] and a cordial is called a cardiac from 1746.^[6] Greek kardia could also mean the stomach, and in anatomy the cardia is still the opening of the stomach next to the oesophagus, from 1843;^[3][6] compare English heartburn.^[3] Cardiac arrest is attested from 1950,^[3] and a person with a heart disorder is a cardiac from about 1929.^[7][8]

Timeline

• c. 1440 – cardiac, a heart vein (noun).^[2]
• 1601 – of the heart.^[2][6]
• 1746 – a cordial.^[6]
• 1843 – of the stomach's upper opening.^[6]
• 1950 – cardiac arrest.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Relating to the heart: cardiac surgery.
2. Relating to the part of the stomach next to the oesophagus.

Noun

1. A person with a heart disorder.

Word family

• intracardiac
• postcardiac
• precardiac
• cardiac arrest
• cardiac muscle
• cardiac tamponade
• cardiac output

Related words

• cardiology
• cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• cordial
• courage
• endocardium
• myocardium
• pericardium
• heart
• cardio-
• core

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin