Etymology

neurotransmitter

Today it means: Any substance, such as acetylcholine or dopamine, responsible for sending nerve signals across a synapse between two neurons. Full definition →

English transmitter ← Ancient Greek νευρο- (neuro-) ← Proto-Indo-European *snéh₁wr̥
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)neh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*snéh₁wr̥
  3. Ancient Greekνεῦρον (neûron)
  4. Ancient Greekνευρο- (neuro-)
  5. Englishneuro-
  6. Englishtransmit
  7. Englishtransmitter
  8. English todayneurotransmitter

From neuro- + transmitter.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.