aorte

Forms

aorte f (plural aortes)^[1] First found as aorti (1478).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀορτή (aortḗ, “aorta”),^[2][4][5][1] a word found in Aristotle's History of Animals.^[2] According to Littré, Hippocrates used it for the bronchi and Aristotle applied it to the great artery; he derives it from a verb meaning “to hang”, related to Ancient Greek αἴρω (aírō, “to lift”), so that it meant “what is suspended”.^[6] Rey gives it the same origin as ἀρτηρία (artēría), the source of artère.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded as aorti in 1478, in Nicolas Panis's translation of Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie.^[2][5] The form aorte appears in 1546, in Charles Estienne's work on the dissection of the body: la grande artere appellée aorte (“the great artery called the aorta”).^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its one anatomical sense, the great artery that leaves the left ventricle of the heart.^[5] It gave the adjective aortique (1805, Cuvier; a noun in 1789), aortite “inflammation of the aorta” (1824) and compounds in aorto- such as aortographie (mid-20th century).^[5]

Timeline

• 1478 – Aorti appears in the French Grande Chirurgie of Guy de Chauliac.^[2][5]
• 1546 – Charles Estienne uses the form aorte.^[2][7]
• 1805 – Cuvier uses the adjective aortique.^[5]
• 1824 – Aortite is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (anatomy) The aorta, the main artery of the body, which rises from the left ventricle of the heart and carries oxygenated blood to all its parts.^[8][2][7]

Word family

• aortique
• aortite

Related words

• artère

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert