Etymology

estrogen

E1S1T1R1O1G2E1N1

Today it means: Any of a group of steroids that are secreted by the ovaries and function as female sex hormones. Full definition →

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

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁eysh₂-
  2. Ancient Greekοἶστρος (oîstros)
  3. Latinoestrus
  4. Englishestrus
  5. Englishestro-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*ǵénh₁os
  8. Proto-Hellenic*génos
  9. Ancient Greekγένος (génos)
  10. English todayestrogen

From estro- (estrus) + -gen (“a producer of”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.