endocrine

Etymology

It is formed from English endo- (“within”) + -crine,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek ἔνδον (éndon, “within”) and κρίνω (krī́nō, “to separate, sift”),^[5][4][6][7] from Proto-Indo-European *krei- (“to sieve”).^[4][8] The OED compares Italian glandole endocrine (Nicola Pende, 1909), French glandes endocrines (1912) and Spanish glándulas endocrinas (1912).^[5] Barnhart takes the English word as borrowed from French endocrine (1912) or Italian endocrine (1909).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a gland, secreting internally, into the blood or lymph: 1914, in E. A. Schäfer's Introduction to the Study of Endocrine Glands.^[5][9][3]

Semantic evolution

It denotes the ductless glands, such as the thyroid, the pituitary and the adrenals,^[5][3] and is contrasted with exocrine.^[2][6] The noun, an endocrine gland or its secretion, is recorded from 1922.^[3]

Timeline

• 1914 – of a gland, secreting directly into the blood or lymph.^[5][9][3]
• 1922 – noun, an endocrine gland or its secretion.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a gland, secreting hormones directly into the bloodstream rather than through a duct, as the thyroid and pituitary do.^[3][5][6]
2. Of or relating to such glands or their secretions: an endocrine disorder.^[2][3]

Noun

1. An endocrine gland.^[2][3][6]

Word family

• endocrinology
• neuroendocrine
• endocrine gland

Related words

• exocrine
• crisis
• critic
• certain

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology