neurologist

Etymology

It is formed from English neurology + -ist,^[2][3][4] or, as the revised OED analyses it, from neuro- and -logist, after neurology.^[5] Neurology, recorded from the 1670s, is from New Latin neurologia,^[2][3][6] a word first used by Thomas Willis in his “Cerebri Anatome” (1664) and formed from νευρο- (neuro-) and -λογία (-logía);^[5][7] the first element is from Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron, “sinew, nerve”), the source of nerve.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

An expert or specialist in neurology: 1832, in J. Thomson's account of the life of William Cullen.^[5][8][3] Etymonline gives 1801, for one who studies or is versed in neurology.^[2]

Semantic evolution

When the word appeared, neurology still meant the systematic description of the nerves.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "a description of the nerves".^[9] The modern sense of neurology, the science of the nervous system and then the branch of medicine dealing with its disorders, is recorded from 1878,^[5] and neurologist now usually means such a physician, distinguished from a psychiatrist.^[8]

Timeline

• 1832 – a specialist in neurology.^[5][8][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A specialist in neurology, especially a physician who diagnoses and treats diseases of the nervous system: The neurologist ordered a scan after the seizure.^[8][10][5]

Related words

• neuritis
• neuron
• neurology
• nerve
• neurological

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins