Etymologically
Log in

cardiovascular

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 00:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌkɑːdi.əʊˈvæskjʊlə(ɹ)/, /ˌkɑːdi.əʊˈvæskjələ(ɹ)/[1]
  • US: /ˌkɑɹdi.oʊˈvæskjəlɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English cardio- + vascular,[2][3][4] or, as Merriam-Webster puts it, it was formed in the International Scientific Vocabulary from cardi- and the same adjective.[5][6] The OED compares French cardio-vasculaire, recorded in 1830 or earlier.[2] The first element comes through New Latin cardio- from Ancient Greek καρδιο- (kardio-), the combining form of καρδία (kardía, “heart”),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *kerd- (“heart”).[3] The second comes from vāsculāris (“of vessels or tubes”), from Latin vāsculum (“small vessel”), a diminutive of vās (“vessel”).[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to the heart and the blood vessels: 1854, in W. H. Walshe's treatise on diseases of the lungs and heart.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1870,[3] Dictionary.com to 1875–80,[4] and Merriam-Webster to 1879.[5]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a medical term for the heart and blood vessels taken together;[3][2] cardiovascular system is recorded by 1918.[3][2] From 1913, in an American physical education journal, it was also used of the ability of the heart and vessels to keep the blood circulating during exertion,[2] and so of exercise meant to raise the heart rate, as in a cardiovascular workout.[5] As a noun, a cardiovascular is a drug that acts on the heart or blood vessels, from 1965.[5]

Timeline

  • 1854 – relating to the heart and blood vessels.[2]
  • 1870 – Etymonline's first date.[3]
  • 1913 – relating to the heart's ability to sustain circulation during exertion.[2]
  • 1918 – cardiovascular system.[3]
  • 1965 – noun, a drug acting on the heart or blood vessels.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or involving the heart and the blood vessels: cardiovascular disease.[5][7][2]
  2. Of exercise: meant to raise the heart rate for a time, to strengthen the heart and circulation: a cardiovascular workout on the rowing machine.[5][2]

Noun

  1. A drug that acts on the heart or blood vessels.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins