Etymology

craniotomy

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Today it means: The surgical procedure for removing a part of the skull, called a bone flap, prior to a treatment. The bone flap is replaced at the end of the operation. Full definition →

Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō) ← Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ← English cranio-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱer-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱerh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ḱérh₂sō
  4. Proto-Hellenic*kárahə
  5. Ancient Greek*κρᾱν- (*krān-)
  6. Ancient Greekκρᾱνῐ́ον (krānĭ́on)
  7. Medieval Latincrānium
  8. Englishcranio-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*temh₁-
  10. Ancient Greekτέμνω (témnō)
  11. English todaycraniotomy

From cranio- + -tomy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.