English
cancer
Cancer comes from Latin cancer ‘crab’, from Proto-Italic *kankros ‘enclosure, fence’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kr-kr-‘circular’reconstructedreduplication of *(s)ker-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karkros‘enclosure’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*kankros‘enclosure’reconstructeddissimilation of *karkros
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancer‘crab’
- Englishearliest quotation 1973cancer
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kr-kr-‘circular’reconstructedreduplication of *(s)ker-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karkros‘enclosure’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*kankros‘enclosure’reconstructeddissimilation of *karkros
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcancer‘crab’
- Englishearliest quotation 1973cancer
Earliest quotation: 1973, John Dean: “I began by telling the President that there was…”
The story
Borrowed from Latin cancer (‘crab’), a calque of Ancient Greek καρκίνος (karkínos, “crab; ulcer; cancer”), possibly cognate, applied to cancerous tumors because of a supposed resemblence between their enlarged veins and the legs of a crab.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’
short, across, share, cross, screen, score, card, shirt, circle, circuit, crucial, curve, circus, circulation, skirt, scare, curb, scrutiny, shrine, carnival, crest, scar, corona, shear, scorpion, shred, circa, raffle, circulate, corolla, scorn, shrewd, carnage, crux, shard, carcinoma, cirque, circulatory, crepe, corgi, 116 more
through Proto-Italic *kankros ‘enclosure, fence’
through Latin cancer ‘crab’
Today it means
noun A disease in which the cells of a tissue undergo uncontrolled (often rapid) proliferation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / cancer