The story
- Ancient Greek · derived fromκαρύκειον“herald’s wand or staff”
- Latin · derived fromcādūceus
- English todaycaduceus
Via Latin cādūceus, cādūceum, adaptation of Doric Ancient Greek καρύκειον (karúkeion, “herald’s wand or staff”). This and Attic Greek κηρύκειον (kērúkeion) are derived from κῆρυξ (kêrux, “herald, public messenger”). Related to κηρύσσω (kērússō, “to announce”).
Words from the same roots
Latincādūceus all →
caduce
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.