Etymology

ileus

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Today it means: Disruption of the normal propulsive ability of the gastrointestinal tract, due to failure of peristalsis. Full definition →

Latin īleus ← Ancient Greek εἰλεός
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromεἰλεός“intestinal obstruction”
  2. Latin · learned borrowing fromīleus
  3. English todayileus

Learned borrowing from Latin īleus, from Ancient Greek εἰλεός (eileós, “intestinal obstruction”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.