Etymology

antigen

A1N1T1I1G2E1N1

Today it means: A substance that induces an immune response, usually foreign (nonself) but not always so. Full definition →

French antigène ← Ancient Greek ἀντι- (anti-) ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énti
  4. Ancient Greekᾰ̓ντῐ́ (ăntĭ́)
  5. Ancient Greekἀντι- (anti-)
  6. Frenchanti-
  7. Frenchgène
  8. Frenchantigène
  9. English todayantigen

From French antigène, from anti- + gène.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.