embryo

Forms

embryo m (genitive embryonis); third declension^[1] Also spelled embrio.^[2][3] The Hungarian medieval dictionary treats it as feminine,^[3] and Köbler as neuter.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἔμβρυον (émbruon, “embryo, unborn young”),^[5][4][2] which is made of ἐν (en, “in”) and βρύω (brúō, “to swell, be full”).^[6][4] Köbler connects the verb, with a question mark, with Proto-Indo-European *gʷeru-.^[4] The Italian dictionary of Conte calls the Latin word medieval, with the forms ⟨embryo⟩ and ⟨embryon⟩.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word first appears in a bilingual glossary, which equates embryo with Greek ἔμβρυον;^[5][8] Köbler likewise knows it first from glosses.^[4] In texts it is found from the Middle Ages on, meaning an embryo.^[1][2]

Semantic evolution

Medieval natural philosophers used it for the unborn young in the womb: Albertus Magnus writes that the nourishment of the embryo comes from the male seed, and Thomas Aquinas speaks of embryos in contact with the womb.^[1] Writers cited by the British medieval dictionary describe the seed becoming an embryo before it is a fetus.^[2] The word was also used in medieval Hungary and Bohemia for a human fetus.^[3][9]

English took it over from Medieval Latin in the 14th century.^[6]

Timeline

• 13th century – Albertus Magnus writes of the nourishment of the embryo.^[1][4]
• 3rd quarter of the 13th century – Thomas Aquinas speaks of embryos in the womb.^[1][4]
• mid-14th century – Borrowed into English as embryo.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) An embryo, the unborn young in the womb.^[1][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A human fetus.^[3][9]

Related words

• English embryo

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Jeanneau, Gérard; Woitrain, Jean-Paul; Hassid, Jean-Claude (2017), Dictionnaire latin-français, online ed., prima-elementa.fr
2. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences