Word origins

• didymusA testis.
• homonymousHaving the same name as another (i.e., like a namesake).
• thetanA soul, spirit or being.
• physalisAny plant of the genus Physalis.
• amphipathicDescribing a molecule, such as a detergent, which has both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups.
• AlethaA female given name.
• cyclopaediaThe circle or compass of the arts and sciences (originally, of the seven so-called liberal arts and sciences); circle of human knowledge.
• agnosiaThe inability to recognise objects by use of the senses.
• oxiaAn Ancient Greek pitch-marking diacritic: ⟨ ´ ⟩; written atop vowels, it denotes high pitch on short vowels, and rising pitch on long vowels and diphthongs.
• geninThe steroid-related portion of some types of glycosides
• xenophobeOne who hates or fears strangers or foreigners.
• hyperemiaexcess of blood in a body part.
• LachesisThe venom of Lachesis muta (South Anerican bushmaster snake), used to treat various conditions.
• polypharmacyThe use of multiple drugs to treat multiple concurrent disorders in the same (now especially elderly) patient, chiefly with connotations of indiscriminate or excessive prescription (involving overmedication and overprescription).
• sideriteA widespread brown mineral, FeCO₃, having the structure of calcite.
• EumenidesThe Erinyes.
• HipparchusAn ancient Greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician.
• mixolydianDesignating the Mixolydian mode, the highest of the ancient Greek modes, and now having final G and D dominant.
• piraticalOf, pertaining to, or similar to pirates.
• hyraxAny of several small, paenungulate herbivorous mammals of the family Procaviidae from the order Hyracoidea, with a bulky frame and fang-like incisors, native to Africa and the Middle East.
• lectotypeA biological specimen or illustration later selected to serve as definitive type example of a species or subspecies when the original author of the name did not designate a holotype.
• phonationThe process of producing vocal sound by the vibration of the vocal folds that is in turn modified by the resonance of the vocal tract.
• azelaicOf or pertaining to azelaic acid or its derivatives
• cytisusAny flowering plant in the genus Cytisus.
• heterodoxyThe quality of being heterodox.
• phimosisA contraction of the foreskin (either as a stage of development or a pathological condition), which prevents it from being retracted.
• periosteumA membrane surrounding a bone.
• anabolismThe constructive metabolism of the body, as distinguished from catabolism.
• astatineA highly radioactive chemical element (symbol At), one of the halogens, with atomic number 85.
• basilicA basilica.
• agastacheA plant of genus Agastache, a giant hyssop.
• ergativeWith the subject of a transitive construction having grammatical cases or thematic relations different from those of an intransitive construction.
• cholicOf or pertaining to bile.
• malvasiaA variety of grape, originally from the region of the Aegean, now used to make malmsey wine.
• PandarusAn archer on the side of Troy in the Trojan War who precipitated the war by breaking a truce.
• clostridialOf, pertaining to, or caused by a bacterium of the genus Clostridium
• lyophilizationSynonym of freeze-drying.
• sisypheanIncessant or incessantly recurring, but futile.
• amphioxusThe lancelet, particularly of the genus Branchiostoma.
• crinoidOne of the numerous animals that make up the class Crinoidea; the feather stars or sea lilies.
• VardarA river in Southeastern Europe, which arises in North Macedonia and flows to the Aegean Sea in Greece.
• amacrineWithout long processes.
• taphonomyThe study of the fate of the remains of organisms after they die, especially the study of fossilization.
• oxicSharp; pointy.
• hexapodAny organism, being or robot with six legs.
• apatosaurusA large sauropod dinosaur of the genus Apatosaurus of the late Jurassic Period, having a long neck and tail and a relatively small head.
• diabaticInvolving the gain or loss of heat (and thus a change in entropy).
• syncytiumA mass of cytoplasm containing many nuclei; a multinucleate cell resulting from cell fusions of mononuclear cells (for example, the cells that make up animal skeletal muscle).
• nephelometerAn instrument for measuring various aspects of the suspended particles in a fluid; especially in a colloid.
• trochusAny member of the genus Trochus, or more generally of the family Trochidae; in non-specialist usage, including species formerly classified in that family, particularly Tectus niloticus.
• synapsisThe association of homologous maternal and paternal chromosomes during the initial part of meiosis.
• eurusThe east wind.
• thrombopoietinA protein produced by the liver and kidney, which regulates the production of platelets
• amygdaloidShaped like an almond
• semonA unit of semiology or semantics.
• crocosmiaAny of many plants in the genus Crocosmia
• glossolaliaSpeaking a language one does not know, or speaking elaborate but apparently meaningless speech, while in a trance-like state (or, supposedly, under the influence of a deity or spirits); speaking in tongues.
• glenohumeralOf or pertaining to the glenoid fossa and the humerus.
• dacryphiliaA paraphilia in which one is aroused by tears or sobbing.
• catholicosA high-ranking bishop or patriarch in certain Eastern Christian traditions.
• AmphipolisA municipality in Central Macedonia, northern Greece.
• autocephalousFully independent of the authority of any other church.
• diplodocusAny of several herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs, of the genus Diplodocus, known as fossils from the late Jurassic in North America.
• holoprosencephalyA congenital disorder involving insufficient division of the lobes of the brain during fetal development, resulting in skull and facial deformities ranging from minor cleft lip problems to cyclopia, in which a single eye develops where the nose would normally be.
• EuboeaAn island of Greece, the second-largest, just off the eastern coast of Boeotia, in the Aegean Sea.
• eikonalDescribing the properties of a class of partial differential equation encountered in descriptions of wave propagation.
• neuropilA fibrous network of nervous tissue that forms the gray matter of the brain
• democidemurder of people by a government which has power over them.
• kininAny of various structurally related polypeptides of the autacoid family, such as bradykinin and kallikrein, that act locally to induce vasodilation and contraction of smooth muscle.
• periodontiumThe specialized tissues that both surround and support the teeth, maintaining them in the maxillary and mandibular bones; the tissues including alveolar bone, cementum, gums and periodontal ligament.
• PartheniaA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• AntikytheraAn island of Greece located between the Peloponnese and Crete, near Kythira.
• gynoeciumThe pistils/carpels of a flower considered as a group
• prostyleHaving pillars only along the front side
• polytropicAble to take various courses of action; resourceful, versatile, adaptable.
• dysostosisA disorder of the development of bone.
• cosmesisThe preservation, restoration, or bestowing of physical beauty, especially to the human body.
• kleptomaniacOne who steals compulsively.
• crocidoliteA fibrous, blue-green mineral that is a variety of riebeckite and is one of the six types of asbestos.
• OlympiasEpirote queen who was the mother of Alexander the Great.
• jubeA type of gelatine-based confection; its ingredients and consistency vary between countries.
• eclogiteA coarse-grained metamorphic rock, a mixture of pyroxene, quartz, and feldspar with inclusions of red garnet.
• hippocampA mythological creature, a cross between a horse and a fish.
• kyphoplastyA medical procedure that restores the original height and angle of kyphosis of a fractured vertebra and then stabilizes it with the injection of bone filler material.
• AnthroposThe primordial man/humanity.
• alexithymiaA deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing emotions.
• AzaniaThe region of East Africa as known by the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
• stilbeneEither of two isomeric hydrocarbons, diphenylethylene, but especially the trans isomer, used in the manufacture of dyes and many other compounds.
• paraphyleticOf a defined group of taxa: not including all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of all members.
• AglaiaThe youngest of the three Graces, daughter of Zeus and Eurynome, spouse of Hephaestus.
• CorrinneA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• mitogenesisThe induction of cellular mitosis.
• kerygmaThe proclamation of religious truths; core religious teaching; preaching.
• pteranodonA member of Pteranodon, a genus of large pterosaurs, the males of which had a bony crest on the back of the head.
• inionA small protuberance on the external surface of the back of the skull near the neck; the external occipital protuberance.
• erythroniumA plant of the genus Erythronium; a dogtooth violet.
• ostracizeTo ban a person from a city for five or ten years through the procedure of ostracism.
• EireneThe goddess and personification of peace; one of the Horae, she is a daughter of Zeus and Themis, and her sisters are Dike (Justice) and Eunomia (Order of Law); her Roman counterpart is Pax.
• PamphyliaA historical region in the south coast of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia.
• IsmeneA daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone, Eteocles and Polynices.