sclerosis

Forms

sclērōsis f (genitive sclērōsis or sclērōseōs or sclērōsios); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σκλήρωσις (sklḗrōsis, “hardening”),^[1][2][3] from σκληρός (sklērós, “hard, dry”).^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates the first record in British Medieval Latin to about 1180.^[3] In the DMLBS quotations it is a hardening of the body's tissues: Bartholomaeus Anglicus says that cold humours in humps often turn in sclirosim, id est duriciam, “into sclerosis, that is, hardness”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In medieval medical writing it was a hardening or induration, of the liver among other organs, and a hard external tumour;^[2] figuratively it was a hardening of the heart and an insensitivity of mind or feeling.^[2] The spelling sclirosis is common in the quotations.^[2] Wiktionary records it as a New Latin medical term,^[1] and English took sclerosis from Medieval Latin in the late 14th century.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1180 – First recorded in British Medieval Latin.^[3]
• late 14th century – English borrows sclerosis from Medieval Latin.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, medicine) A hardening or induration of tissue, as of the liver.^[2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A hard external tumour.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin, figurative) Hardness of heart; insensitivity.^[2]

Related words

• English sclerosis

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com