toxicology

Etymology

It is formed from English toxico- + -logy.^[2][3][4][5] The OED compares French toxicologie, which it dates to 1812;^[6] Etymonline takes the English word from the French one, also dated 1812,^[7] although the OED records the English word in 1799.^[6] The first element is from Ancient Greek τοξικόν (toxikón), which the OED says was taken in the sense "poison",^[6] originally the poison used on arrows,^[7][8] the neuter of τοξικός (toxikós, “of the bow or arrows”), from τόξον (tóxon, “bow”).^[8][5] The second is from -λογία (-logía), from -λόγος (-lógos, “one who deals with a subject”).^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The science of poisons, the branch of medicine dealing with their nature and effects: 1799, in Hooper's Medical Dictionary.^[6][2] Dictionary.com dates it to 1790–1800, Etymonline to 1815, and the Shorter Oxford to the mid-19th century.^[4][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed close to the first one.^[6][7] Early definitions name poisons and their antidotes;^[7][9] later ones add the detection of poisons,^[3] and Merriam-Webster includes substances harmless in themselves that become toxic under particular conditions, and the clinical, industrial and legal problems they raise.^[2] The derivatives toxicological and toxicologist date from the mid-19th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 1799 – the science of poisons.^[6][2]
• mid 19th century – toxicological and toxicologist.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The science of poisons and their effects on living things, including their detection and antidotes: She studied toxicology before joining the crime lab.^[9][2][3]

Word family

• toxicological
• toxicologically
• toxicologist
• neurotoxicology
• ecotoxicology

Related words

• toxic
• toxin
• intoxicate
• -logy

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins