Word origins

• dialecticsA systematic method of argument that attempts to resolve the contradictions in opposing views or ideas.
• periodontitisA serious form or stage of periodontal disease which may lead to loss of bone and falling out of teeth.
• DeimosA son of Ares (Latin: Mars), god of terror.
• parenchymaThe functional tissue of an organ as distinguished from the connective and supporting tissue.
• PythiaA priestess of Pythian Apollo, the Oracle of Delphi
• AntheaA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• DoricRelating to one of the Greek orders of architecture, distinguished by its simplicity and solidity.
• hemolysisThe destruction of red blood cells, and subsequent release of hemoglobin, at the normal end of the cell's life.
• oesophagusThe tube that carries food from the pharynx to the stomach.
• kurtosisA measure of "heaviness of the tails" of a probability distribution, defined as the fourth cumulant divided by the square of the variance of the probability distribution.
• PentateuchSynonym of Torah.
• symptomatologyThe scientific study of the symptoms of diseases, as an aspect of clinical medicine, differential diagnosis, public health, and so on.
• ladeTo fill or load (related to cargo or a shipment).
• dyneinAny of a group of enzymes that hydrolyze ATP and thus provide motive power for motile structures such as microtubules.
• harpeA type of curved weapon or implement, variously described as a sickle, a pruning hook, or a curved sword like a scimitar. In later depictions it became a combination of a straight sword on one side and a curved blade on the other.
• GolgothaA charnel house.
• gliaThe network of glial cells that supports nervous system tissue.
• EleutheraA long thin island in the Bahamas, east of New Providence.
• sialicOf or pertaining to saliva.
• bouleOne of the bowls used in the French game of boules.
• EratoThe goddess of lyric poetry, particularly erotic poetry, eroticism, and mimic imitation, and one of the Muses; the daughters of Zeus & Mnemosyne. Usually depicted with a crown/wreath of myrtle and roses, holding a lyre and a golden arrow and doves. Often accompanies Eros/Cupid.
• matiIn Greek culture, a protective symbol resembling an eye, supposed to ward off the evil eye.
• uraniaAny of several impure mixtures of uranium oxides.
• haemophiliaAny of several hereditary illnesses that impair the body's ability to control bleeding, usually passed from mother to son.
• palindromeA word, phrase, number or any other sequence of units which has the property of reading the same forwards as it does backwards, character for character, sometimes disregarding punctuation, capitalization and diacritics.
• liposomeAn aqueous compartment enclosed by a bimolecular membrane, typically of phospholipid; a lipid vesicle.
• TroilusA male given name.
• osmiumA chemical element (symbol Os) with atomic number 76: a hard, brittle, heavy, bluish-white transition metal found as a trace element in alloys, mostly in platinum ores.
• ThessalyA historical region and administrative region in north-central Greece; one of its 13 peripheries. It contains the prefectures of Karditsa, Larissa, Magnesia and Trikala.
• thujaA tree of the genus Thuja.
• hermeneuticHaving to do with hermeneutics; that explains, interprets, illustrates or elucidates texts, especially holy texts.
• toposA literary theme or motif; a rhetorical convention or formula.
• monadicof, relating to, or being a monad
• steganographyThe art and science of concealing a secret message, data, or file within another innocuous message, image, audio file, or physical object in a way that hides the very existence of the hidden information from casual observation.
• boreasThe north wind.
• gastrinA hormone that stimulates the production of gastric acid in the stomach
• BereniceA female given name from Ancient Greek, notably of ancient queens of Egypt.
• panoplyA splendid display of something.
• nematicWhose molecules align in loose parallel lines.
• achromaticFree from color; transmitting light without color-related distortion.
• meonspignel, Meum athamanticum
• acraThe vascular areas of the body most removed from the heart.
• deuteronthe nucleus of deuterium, consisting of a proton and a neutron
• stoaIn Ancient Greece, a walkway with a roof supported by colonnades, often with a wall on one side; specifically, the Great Hall in Athens.
• dendriteA slender projection of a nerve cell which conducts nerve impulses from a synapse to the body of the cell; a dendron.
• autocracyA form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual.
• pragmatistOne who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.
• anaphaseThe stage of mitosis and meiosis during which the chromosomes separate, the chromatid moving to opposite poles of the cell.
• ElaraA mistress of Zeus.
• encausticPrepared by means of heat; burned in.
• misogynyHatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women.
• holonOne of three kinds of quasiparticle (the others being the spinon and orbiton) that electrons in solids are able to split into during the process of spin–charge separation, when extremely tightly confined at temperatures close to absolute zero.
• labyrinthinePhysically resembling a labyrinth; with the qualities of a maze.
• opineTo express an opinion; to state as an opinion; to suppose, consider (that).
• dyadA set of two elements treated as one; a pair.
• lymphadenopathyAn abnormal enlargement of the lymph nodes; it is often a nonspecific sign of infection but is also often of obscure origin and benign.
• retinoidPertaining to or resembling a resin.
• ergonWork, measured in terms of the quantity of heat to which it is equivalent.
• epididymisA narrow, tightly-coiled tube connecting the efferent ducts from the rear of each testicle to its vas deferens, where sperm are stored during maturation.
• skeneAn element of ancient Greek theater: the structure at the back of the stage.
• enkephalinAny of a group of pentapeptide endorphins that have opiate-like effects
• macronA short, straight, horizontal diacritical mark (◌̄) placed over a letter, usually to indicate that the pronunciation of a vowel is long.
• panopticonA kind of projector in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• myositisInflammation of the muscles.
• echidnaAny of the small spined monotremes in the family Tachyglossidae, the four extant species of which are found in Australia and southern New Guinea.
• mazaAn Ancient Greek barley cake.
• metabolizeTo undergo metabolism.
• NyxThe primordial goddess of night.
• loosestrifeAny of certain flowering plants of the genera Lythrum and Lysimachia, which are in different taxonomic families.
• OceanusPersonification of vast waters or the world ocean. He was the first-born of the Titans, son of Uranus and Gaia, the god Ωκεανός Ποταμός (Ōkeanós Potamós, “River Ocean”) that encircled the earth. With his sister-wife, Tethys, he fathered all rivers and the Oceanids.
• gameteA reproductive cell (sperm in males or eggs in females), having only half of a complete set of chromosomes.
• splenectomyThe surgical removal of the spleen.
• antagonizeTo work against; to oppose (especially to incite a reaction).
• clasticMade up of parts that are easily removable.
• ThanatosThe death drive in Freudian psychoanalysis.
• CaloA surname.
• pyroclasticMostly composed of rock fragments of volcanic origin or comminuted during an eruption.
• helminthA parasitic worm; a fluke, tapeworm, or nematode.
• apraxiaTotal or partial loss of the ability to perform coordinated movements or manipulate objects in the absence of motor or sensory impairment; specifically, a disorder of motor planning.
• nomosThe body of law, especially that governing human behaviour.
• philomathA lover of learning; a scholar.
• zymeA ferment.
• meronEither of the pair of entities that together make up an instanton.
• daimonSynonym of demon, particularly as
• anaphoraThe repetition of a phrase at the beginning of phrases, sentences, or verses, used for emphasis.
• carusdeep coma or lethargy
• nephronThe basic structural and functional unit of the kidney, which filters the blood in order to regulate chemical concentrations, and thereby produces urine.
• EndymionA man described variously as a handsome Aeolian shepherd, hunter, or king, who was loved by Selene or Artemis (the two being often conflated) and was said to rule and live at Olympia in Elis, as well as venerated and said to reside in Caria, southwest Asia Minor, on Mount Latmus.
• benthosThe flora and fauna at the bottom of a body of water.
• seleniteA soft, glassy form of gypsum (chemical formula CaSO₄·2H₂O).
• CreonKing of Thebes, noted primarily in the stories of Antigone and Oedipus.
• dysphoriaA state of feeling unwell or unhappy; a feeling of emotional and mental discomfort and suffering from restlessness, malaise, depression, or anxiety.
• ThelemaA spiritual and social philosophy developed in the early 1900s, calling each person to act in alignment with his or her True Will (which may or may not be the same as personal wishes) as a basis for spiritual growth.
• eutecticDescribing the chemical composition or temperature of a mixture of substances that gives the lowest temperature at which the mixture becomes fully molten. A further requirement is that that temperature is lower than the melting point of any of the pure component substances.
• pericardiumA serous membrane that surrounds the heart allowing it to contract.
• xoanonA wooden statue used as a cult image in Ancient Greece.
• trigonA triangle.
• polluxA variety of petalite always found with castor.
• TuriA surname.
• cratonA part of the Earth’s crust that has survived the splitting and merging of continents.