Etymology

hydrocephalus

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Today it means: A usually congenital condition in which an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the cerebral ventricles causes enlargement of the skull and compression of the brain, destroying much of the neural tissue. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ὑδροκέφαλον (hudroképhalon) ← Proto-Hellenic *kʰepʰəlā́ ← Proto-Indo-European *gʰébʰōl
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  3. Proto-Hellenic*údōr
  4. Ancient Greekῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr)
  5. Ancient Greekὑδρο- (hudro-)
  6. Proto-Indo-European*gʰebʰ-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*gʰébʰōl
  8. Proto-Hellenic*kʰepʰəlā́
  9. Ancient Greekκεφαλή (kephalḗ)
  10. Ancient Greekὑδροκέφαλον (hudroképhalon)
  11. English todayhydrocephalus

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὑδροκέφαλον (hudroképhalon).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.