hormonal

Etymology

It is formed from English hormone + -al.^[2][3][4] hormone is from Ancient Greek ὁρμῶν (hormôn, “that which sets in motion”), the present participle of ὁρμάω (hormáō, “to set in motion, urge on”),^[2][3] from ὁρμή (hormḗ, “onset, impulse”).^[2][3] Etymonline traces it further to Proto-Indo-European *er- (“to move, set in motion”).^[2] Merriam-Webster classes hormonal as International Scientific Vocabulary.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of, involving or produced by hormones: 1926, as a heading in Chemical Abstracts.^[3][4][2] Etymonline notes that hormonal had earlier been a noun, the name of a hormone from the spleen.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has kept its physiological sense, but in recent informal use it also describes people, especially teenagers or pregnant women, whose moods or behaviour seem driven by their sex hormones.^[4][5][6]

Timeline

• 1926 – of or involving hormones.^[3][4][2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to, containing, produced by or using hormones: a hormonal imbalance.^[4][5][3]
2. (informal) Moody, emotional or easily aroused, as if under the influence of one's sex hormones: a classroom of hormonal fourteen-year-olds.^[5][6][4]

Word family

• hormonally
• neurohormonal

Related words

• hormone

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press