Etymology

carotid

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Today it means: Either of the two main arteries that supply blood to the head of which the left in humans arises from the arch of the aorta and the right by bifurcation of the brachiocephalic artery with each passing up the side of the neck and dividing opposite the upper border of the thyroid cartilage into an external branch supplying the face, tongue, and external parts of the head and an internal branch supplying the brain, eye, and other internal parts of the head. Full definition →

French carotide ← New Latin carōtides ← Ancient Greek κᾰρωτῐ́δες
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromκᾰρωτῐ́δες“carotid arteries”
  2. New Latin · derived fromcarōtides
  3. French · borrowed fromcarotide
  4. English todaycarotid

Borrowed from French carotide or New Latin carōtides, from Ancient Greek κᾰρωτῐ́δες (kărōtĭ́des, “carotid arteries”), from κᾰρόω (kăróō, “to plunge into deep sleep or torpor”) + -τῐ́δες (-tĭ́des, plural nominal suffix), from the fact that the carotid artery supplies blood to the brain, and interruption of this flow causes loss of consciousness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.