English
lapinize
Lapinize comes from French lapiniser ‘to lapinize’, from lapin ‘rabbit’, and ultimately from Middle French lapin.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600lapin‘rabbit’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘rabbit’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentlapiniser‘to lapinize’
- Englishtodaylapinize
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600lapin‘rabbit’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘rabbit’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentlapiniser‘to lapinize’
- Englishtodaylapinize
The story
From French lapiniser, apparently attested in French since c. 1910.
Every English word from Middle French lapin
Today it means
verb To attenuate a virus, such that it can be used to make a vaccine, by passage through rabbits.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French lapin / lapinize