αἱμορραγία

Forms

αἱμορρᾰγίᾱ (haimorrhagíā) f (genitive αἱμορρᾰγίᾱς); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from Ancient Greek αἱμο- (haimo-, “blood”) + ῥήγνυμι (rhḗgnūmi, “to break, burst”) with the suffix -ία (-íā).^[1] It goes with the verb αἱμορραγέω (haimorrhagéō, “to bleed violently”) and the adjective αἱμορραγής (haimorrhagḗs, “bleeding violently”).^[2][3]

It passed into Latin as haemorrhagia, the source of English hemorrhage.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a word of the Hippocratic writers, in the Prognostic, the Epidemics, On Joints and the Aphorisms, where it means a haemorrhage or any violent bleeding.^[4][5][2]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed a medical term: after the Hippocratic writers Rufus of Ephesus and Galen use it, and Galen uses it of nosebleed.^[5][2] Latin borrowed it as haemorrhagia, which gave English hemorrhage about 1400.^[3] Modern Greek αιμορραγία (aimorragía) continues the ancient word; its figurative sense, a heavy loss (as of money or people), was taken from French hémorragie.^[6]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – The Hippocratic writers use it of haemorrhage and violent bleeding.^[5][2][4]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Rufus of Ephesus uses it in his work on the kidneys and bladder.^[5]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it of haemorrhage and of nosebleed.^[2][5]
• About 1400 – English takes hemorrhage from Latin haemorrhagia.^[3]
• Modern Greek – αιμορραγία (aimorragía) keeps the ancient sense and adds a figurative one from French.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (medicine) A haemorrhage, violent bleeding.^[2][5]
2. (medicine) A nosebleed.^[2]

Related words

• αἱμορραγέω (haimorrhagéō)
• αἱμορραγής (haimorrhagḗs)
• αἷμα (haîma)
• ῥήγνυμι (rhḗgnūmi)
• Latin haemorrhagia
• English hemorrhage

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
5. ^ a b c d e f Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki