Etymology

microsurgery

M3I1C3R1O1S1U1R1G2E1R1Y4

Today it means: Relating to techniques of surgery on very small or delicate parts of the body. Full definition →

English surgery ← Middle English surgerie ← Old French surgerie
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mey-der.?
  2. Ancient Greekμῑκρός (mīkrós)
  3. Ancient Greekμῑκρο- (mīkro-)
  4. Englishmicro-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰes-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰésōr
  7. Proto-Hellenic*kʰéhər
  8. Ancient Greekχείρ (kheír)
  9. Proto-Indo-European*werǵ-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*worǵós
  11. Proto-Hellenic*worgós
  12. Ancient Greekχειρουργός (kheirourgós)
  13. Ancient Greekχειρουργέω (kheirourgéō)
  14. Ancient Greekχειρουργίᾱ̆ (kheirourgíā̆)
  15. Latinchīrūrgia
  16. Old Frenchsurgie
  17. Old Frenchsurgerie
  18. Middle Englishsurgerie
  19. Englishsurgery
  20. English todaymicrosurgery

From micro- + surgery.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.