Etymology

forceps

F4O1R1C3E1P3S1

Today it means: An instrument used in surgery or medical procedures for grasping and holding objects, similar to tongs or pincers. Full definition →

Latin forcep ← Proto-Italic *formokaps? ← Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʷʰer-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*gʷʰormós
  3. Proto-Italic*xʷormos
  4. Proto-Italic*formos
  5. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*kapyéti
  7. Proto-Italic*kapjō
  8. Proto-Italic*formokaps?
  9. Latinforcep
  10. English todayforceps

Learned borrowing from Latin forceps.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.