Word origins

• quadriplegiaParalysis from the neck down.
• telicTending or directed towards a goal or specific end.
• ErastusA certain early Christian and city chamberlain. (biblical character)
• AnaniasIn the New Testament, any of certain members of the early Christian church.
• cosmogonyThe study of the origin, and sometimes the development, of the universe or the solar system, in astrophysics, religion, and other fields.
• salamisThe largest island in the Saronic Gulf, near Athens, Greece, where a famous battle in the Persian Wars took place.
• mimesisThe representation of aspects of the real world, especially human actions, in literature and art.
• PersisA region of ancient Iran in its southwest; modern Fars province.
• kinetochoreThe protein structure in eukaryotes which assembles on the centromere and links the chromosome to microtubule polymers from the mitotic spindle during mitosis.
• parameciumAn oval-shaped protozoan organism of the genus Paramecium.
• philanderA lover.
• abiogenesisThe origination of living organisms from lifeless matter; such genesis as does not involve the action of living parents.
• dysthymiaA tendency to be depressed, without hope.
• heterodoxOf or pertaining to creeds, beliefs, or teachings, especially religious ones, that are different from what a religion (or sect) believes to be orthodox, but (usually) not conflicting with that religion's established beliefs and therefore not heretical.
• tetradA group of four things.
• atopyA hereditary disorder marked by the tendency to develop localized immediate hypersensitivity reactions to allergens such as pollen, food etc and is manifested by hay fever, asthma, or similar allergic conditions; generally considered to be caused by the interaction of environmental and genetic factors.
• hermeneuticalOf or pertaining to hermeneutics (the study or theory of the methodical interpretation of text, especially holy texts).
• misanthropyA negative view or hatred of the human race.
• uremiaBlood poisoning resulting from the retention of waste products usually excreted as urine.
• EmpedoclesA Greek philosopher who held that all matter was composed of earth, air, fire and water.
• HippocreneA fountain on Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses and formed by the hooves of Pegasus, the waters of which were supposed to give poetic inspiration when imbibed.
• apollosA figure of the early Christian church, mentioned in the Book of Acts and the First Epistle to the Corinthians.
• ptosisThe prolapse of a bodily organ, especially drooping of the eyelid or the breasts.
• KassandraA female given name from Ancient Greek, a rare spelling variant (or alternate transliteration) of Cassandra.
• lemaThe secretion of the tarsal glands of the eye.
• HyperboreaThe land of sunshine and plenty, beyond Boreas (the northern wind), home to the hyperboreans (a race of giants).
• octahedrona polyhedron with eight faces; the regular octahedron has regular triangles as faces and is one of the Platonic solids.
• tetraploidHaving four sets of chromosomes.
• ThalassaA moon of Neptune.
• pseudonymousOf or pertaining to a pseudonym.
• thermicOf, related to, or associated with heat; thermal.
• paideiaAn Athenian system of education designed to give students a broad cultural background focusing on integration into the public life of the city-state with subject matter including gymnastics, grammar, rhetoric, music, mathematics, geography, natural history, and philosophy
• phosgenecarbonyl chloride
• galiumAny of the genus Galium of annual and perennial herbaceous plants, including the bedstraws.
• epistaxisNosebleed.
• EsseneA member of a first-century ascetic Jewish sect in ancient Palestine from the second century BCE to the second century CE. The Essenes are believed to have been the authors of the Dead Sea scrolls.
• plutonicContaining plutonium in a higher oxidation state.
• cliticA morpheme that functions like a word, but never appears as an independent word, instead being always attached to a following or preceding word (or, in some cases, within a surrounding word).
• necrophiliaA pathological attraction to dead bodies.
• NerissaA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• narcosisUnconsciousness caused by a drug, anaesthetic or other chemical substance.
• tephraThe solid material thrown into the air by a volcanic eruption that settles on the surrounding areas.
• hypospadiasA congenital condition in males in which the opening of the urethra is on the underside of the penis.
• kyaniteA blue neosilicate mineral, Al₂SiO₅, found in metamorphic rocks.
• AlpheusA river in Hades.
• damasceneInlaid with silver or gold.
• cronjobAn automated task that runs at specific intervals.
• BethanA female given name from Aramaic, variant of Bethany, transferred use of the biblical place name.
• myelitisInflammation of the spinal cord or of bone marrow.
• apophysisA natural outgrowth, swelling or enlargement, usually of an organism; a protuberance on a bone.
• HellespontThe strait connecting the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea to the west.
• systoleThe rhythmic contraction of the heart, by which blood is driven through the arteries.
• solenA cradle, as for a broken limb.
• spireaAny of the many flowering shrubs of the genus Spiraea, that have clusters of white or pink flowers.
• chondriteA meteorite consisting of rock containing chondrules.
• CharmianA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• CelsusAn ancient Greek philosopher of the Second Century.
• HestiaThe virgin goddess of the hearth, and the household, and therefore of domestic life.
• SimonidesAncient Greek lyric poet from the island of Ceos.
• deonticPertaining to necessity, duty or obligation, or expressions conveying this.
• spathAny plant of the genus Spathiphyllum of peace lilies.
• epigraphAn inscription, especially on a building.
• HemeraThe personification and elemental goddess of the day. Her husband is Aether.
• conchologyThe study of molluscs and their shells.
• telamonA figure of a man (often Atlas) used as a pillar for support.
• catallaxyA high-interaction society of collective decision making.
• peristalsisThe coordinated, rhythmic, wavelike contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle that propels contents through a hollow organ, particularly food through the gastrointestinal tract.
• analectsA collection of excerpts or quotes.
• enthuseTo show enthusiasm.
• metronmetre (US: meter), poetic measure
• amaltheaAn aggregation of dry fruits within a calyx which does not become fleshy, as in Alchemilla or Sanguisorba.
• achalasiaSuch obstruction in the esophagus: esophageal achalasia.
• AstyanaxThe nickname of Scamandrius, child son of Hector and Andromache.
• icosahedronA polyhedron with twenty faces.
• etheeasy
• cladisticsAn approach to biological systematics in which organisms are grouped based upon synapomorphies (shared derived characteristics) only, and not upon symplesiomorphies (shared ancestral characteristics); a method of classifying organisms based on their evolutionary relationships instead of superficial characteristics.
• empyemaA collection of pus within a naturally existing anatomical cavity (as opposed to an abscess, which occurs in a newly formed cavity).
• ProtagorasA pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, who famously said "man is the measure of all things".
• tantalizeTo tease (someone) by offering or showing them something desirable but leaving them unsatisfied.
• paresisA paralysis which is incomplete or which occurs in isolated areas.
• tetradrachmA silver coin in Ancient Greece, equivalent to four drachms.
• pegmatiteA coarsely crystalline igneous or plutonic rock composed primarily of feldspar and quartz, normally with muscovite and/or biotite mica.
• trichotillomaniaA medical disorder where someone compulsively pulls their own hair out.
• diastoleThe phase or process of relaxation and dilation of the heart chambers, between contractions, during which they fill with blood; an instance of the process.
• coelacanthAny of the class Actinistia of primitive lobe-finned fish in the order Coelacanthiformes—thought to have been extinct for 70 million years until a living specimen was discovered in 1938. Most species are large and plump and they all have bodies covered in tough elasmoid scales that act as armor.
• delphicOf or relating to Delphi or its oracles.
• bruxismThe habit or practice of grinding the teeth, as while sleeping, or due to stress or certain drugs.
• cephalonThe head of a trilobite.
• atelectasisThe collapse of a part of or the whole lung caused by inner factors rather than a pneumothorax.
• stygianInfernal or hellish.
• rhodochrositeA crystalline mineral composed mainly of manganese carbonate MnCO₃.
• demiurgeThe (usually benevolent) being that created the universe out of primal matter.
• homologicalHaving a shared evolutionary origin.
• demeA township or other subdivision of ancient Attica.
• HyksosA mixed group of Asiatic people from Western Asia who took over the eastern Nile Delta, ending the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt and initiating the Second Intermediate Period.
• hamamelisAny of the flowering plant genus Hamamelis, the witch hazels.
• plutocracyGovernment by the wealthy.
• patronymicDerived from one's father.
• thylakoida folded membrane within plant chloroplasts from which grana are made, used in photosynthesis
• dyscalculiaA learning disability characterized by significantly below average mathematical ability.