Meanings
- anatomyThe great artery which carries the blood from the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs; the main trunk of the arterial system.
Synonyms: great artery
- figurativelyThe liveliest part of something.
Tracing their battles, I had many occasions to walk along Second Avenue, the aorta of the Lower East Side, exploring places that were once as vibrant and tumultuous as Midtown Manhattan.
2007 January 26, Stefan Kanfer, “In Lower Manhattan, the Echo of the Yiddish Stage Endures”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2019
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe great artery which carries the blood from the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs; the main trunk of the arterial system.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀορτή“the arteries springing from the heart”
- Englishaorta
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀορτή (aortḗ, “the arteries springing from the heart”), from ἀορτέω (aortéō), lengthened form of ἀείρω (aeírō, “to lift, raise”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀορτή
- ἀορτή (aortḗ)great artery
Arabic أَبْهَر, وَتِين
- أَبْهَر (ʔabhar)great artery
- وَتِين (watīn)great artery
- أَوُرْطَى (ʔawurṭā)great artery
Bulgarian ао́рта
- ао́рта (aórta)great artery
Catalan aorta
- aortagreat artery
Chinese Mandarin 主動脈 /主动脉, 大動脈 /大动脉
- 主動脈 /主动脉 (zhǔdòngmài)great artery
- 大動脈 /大动脉 (dàdòngmài)great artery
Czech srdečnice, aorta
- srdečnicegreat artery
- aortagreat artery
Danish aorta, hovedpulsåre
- aortagreat artery
- hovedpulsåregreat artery
Dutch aorta, lichaamsslagader
- aortagreat artery
- lichaamsslagadergreat artery
Esperanto aorto
- aortogreat artery
Finnish aortta
- aorttagreat artery
French aorte
- aortegreat artery
German Hauptschlagader, Aorta
- Hauptschlagadergreat artery
- Aortagreat artery
Greek αορτή
- αορτή (aortí)great artery
Hebrew אבי העורקים, אאורטה
- אבי העורקים (aví ha-orakím)great artery
- אאורטה (aórta)great artery
Hindi महाधमनी
- महाधमनी (mahādhmanī)great artery
Hungarian főverőér
- főverőérgreat artery
Indonesian aorta, batang nadi
- aortagreat artery
- batang nadigreat artery
Irish aorta
- aortagreat artery
Italian aorta
- aortagreat artery
Japanese 大動脈
- 大動脈 (daidōmyaku)great artery
Korean 대동맥
- 대동맥 (daedongmaek)great artery
Māori pūtahi o te manawa
- pūtahi o te manawagreat artery
Persian آئورت, رگ جان
- آئورت (â'ort)great artery
- رگ جان (rag-e jân)great artery
Polish aorta
- aortagreat artery
Portuguese aorta
- aortagreat artery
Romanian aortă
- aortăgreat artery
Russian ао́рта
- ао́рта (aórta)great artery
Slovak srdcovnica, aorta
- srdcovnicagreat artery
- aortagreat artery
Spanish aorta
- aortagreat artery
Swahili aorta
- aortagreat artery
Swedish aorta, kroppspulsåder
- aortagreat artery
- kroppspulsådergreat artery
Tagalog punong-tibukan, punong ugat-tibukan
- punong-tibukangreat artery
- punong ugat-tibukangreat artery
Thai เอออร์ตา
- เอออร์ตา (ee-ɔɔ-dtaa)great artery
Turkish aort
- aortgreat artery
Ukrainian ао́рта
- ао́рта (aórta)great artery
Vietnamese động mạch chủ, đại động mạch
- động mạch chủgreat artery
- đại động mạchgreat artery
Cite this entry
aorta. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aorta
“aorta.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aorta. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aorta,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aorta.
Source: aorta on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.