Etymology

carcinogen

C3A1R1C3I1N1O1G2E1N1

Today it means: A substance or agent that can cause cancer. Full definition →

Ancient Greek γένος (génos) ← Proto-Hellenic *génos ← Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os
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The story

  1. Englishcarcino-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ǵénh₁os
  4. Proto-Hellenic*génos
  5. Ancient Greekγένος (génos)
  6. English todaycarcinogen

From carcino- + -gen.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.